They Were Ready to Fight: Chigasaki Castle Ruins Park in Yokohama 茅ケ崎城址公園

As we’re waiting for vaccines and drugs against COVID-19, I’m still hesitating to introduce you places outside of Yokohama … So, this week, I tell you my small adventure visiting a near-by historical forest-castle park in Yokohama. It’s Chigasaki Castle Ruins Park 茅ケ崎城址公園. The nearest public transportation stop for the place is Center South Station センター南 of Yokohama City Subway. These days, riding public transportation itself is a sort of adventure … Not much ad posters both in stations and inside cars ... People try to keep social distance as much as possible, with masks, of course … Anyway, unless you visit Central South Station during rush hours, the Station is normally a quiet place. It’s in the middle of residential area. Oh, disclaimer. The photo for this post was taken early March, before the State of Emergency for Yokohama. I think the forest now is full of early summer green …

Cherry trees had only buds at that time …

The Park is very near the subway station. Please leave the Station from Exit 6 which is on the 3^rd floor of the adjacent business building. Going down, we are in the bus terminal for Center South Station. Looking buses on our left, we’ll see a traffic light in front of us, at the crossing with Rekihaku Dori Street 歴博通り. Please cross it and go straight into the residential area. There is a small forest hill ahead of us. That’s Chigasaki Castle Ruins Park. This was a castle for battle, designed to have limited access. To find the entrance, once we reach to the foot of the hill, please turn left and walk along the hill slope. Eventually, there will be an entrance saying this is a historical castle park.

The ticket gate of Center South Station

The exit from the business building

The traffic light at the Rekihaku Dori crossing.
 Please take the road straight in front of us.

The road from the crossing is like this.
 Could you see greenery at the bottom of the road?
 It’s already Chigasaki Castle Ruins Park.

We’re now at the foot of the Castle.
 Please turn left here.

The road surrounding the hill

On our left, the opposite of the castle,
 there is an old temple,
 Jufukuji Temple Kan’noh-Doh 寿福寺観音堂 rebuilt in 1625.

Going round along the hill foot …

Here is “the” entrance to the Castle.
 A bit beyond from here along the hill foot,
there is a 21^st century wider gate to the park
 where maintenance cars can enter.
 The point of this photo is the original north entrance to the Castle.

The Park is an open-air museum for a ruin of medieval fortress castle. There are many panels explaining the structure and past usage of the places, with the findings of archeological research of the area. The ruin preserves well the former structure. According to one of the panels situated at the entrance of the Park, Chigasaki Castle was built during the late 14^th century by a clan of samurai Lord, Ohgigayatsu-Uesugi Clan 扇谷上杉家, that was a part of Muromachi Government 室町幕府 of Kyoto 京都. The time soon degenerated into the Civil War, and the castle eventually became a frontline fortress for Hojo Clan 北条氏 of Odawara 小田原 against retreated Uesugi Clan. In terms of the chain of command, Chigasaki Castle was a satellite for Kozukue Castle 小机城 (: my post on July 3, 2015). The plan for Chigasaki Castle tells us this was a well-thought of fortress for such requirements of combat. It stood on a hill south of Hayabuchi River 早渕川, a tributary of flood-prone and swampy Tsurumi River 鶴見川 (: my post on February 21, 2020). The river could give the soldiers a natural barrier against enemy troops approaching from the north. The very steep slope of a hill we first find from the subway station actually surrounds 3 directions, south, east, and west, of the castle. Such drop could deter the enemy pouring in the castle. The north slope still has remains of dry moats with artificially created earthen walls with a lean of more than 20° degree. It was a serious work.

A panel along the road explaining daily life for the Castle.

One of the panels
 showing the result of archeological excavation.
 The fragments of china found here was
 mainly from the era of Uesugui Clan, it says.

Remaining ruin for dry moat,
 near the North Entrance of the Castle.
 It looks like a road built by modern civil engineering.
Actually, the ground was intentionally dug,
 and the soil was piled up this way to create steeper slope.

In 2020, the entrance to the park is wide and inviting. But when the place was fully functional fortress, it was much narrower with the gates and tricks easy to be deployed. Although the archeological research has not been completed yet, the scholars consider it had two entrances with such functions. The main entrance today is at the possible north gate point of the fortress. Normally, samurai commander of a fortress located himself in the biggest structure, called Nakakuruwa 中郭. For a typical fortress castle of Medieval Japan, from an entrance to Nakakuruwa a road wide enough for horse-riders proceeds on the hill slopes, always turning left and climbing up slowly. Majority of warriors are/were right-handed so that samurai pulled out the sward by crossing their right arm in front of their body and reaching their weapon at their left waist.  Naturally, at the time when they were reaching to their swords their body center turns to the left. Imagine the soldiers protecting the Nakakuruwa watched from higher position their enemies running up. If road to their place always turned left, at the time when the intruders unsheathed swords, they must have shown their shoulder contorted towards the defense team at least for seconds. That’s the time to attack the enemies. The road of Chigasaki Castle Ruin is simple and follows this basic principle. The ruin is one of the best-preserved archeological sites in Metropolitan Tokyo area where we can actually experience medieval war tactics.

From the entrance, the road goes up rapidly.

This is the point where once the gate and traps were located.
 Could you see the road is turning left?

This is the road along the south of the castle.
 The bamboo forest is on a very steep slope.
Bottom of the hill was the residential area,
called Negoya 根小屋,
 for the subordinates of the Castle commander.
 i.e. They protected the fortress.
 South Entrance to the castle was from Negoya area.

The final approach to Nakakuruwa
 from the possible south entrance.
 Come to think of it,
 the subordinates must have run to this very steep slope
 when emergency happened.
 Hmmmmmmmmm …

Whatever the intent of the architect, the present-day Chigasaki Castle is a peaceful hill with a view to surrounding suburbia. (Yeah, the vista itself is thanks to its former role as a fortress …) When Hojo Clan was defeated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi 豊臣秀吉 in 1590 (; my post on December 6, 2019), Chigasaki Castle ended its role as war fortress together with Kozukue Castle. The area became a property for Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康, and he let his subordinate samurais manage the area. The structures of Chigasaki Castle were demolished, and the hill became “common land” for farmer villagers lived on the foot of Chigasaki Castle. I guess at that time those who lived in Negoya abandoned to be warriors and became farmers … They planted jolcham oaks (Quercus serrata), bamboos, and other useful species for their village life, which made the castle ruin a forest. In early March when I’ve been there, the place was a peaceful forest where neighbors strolled, jogged, and played. Early spring birds were singing. As this is a place with historical value, it equips easy-to-understand maps and signposts. The roads were wide enough to be relaxed even with the threat of COVID-19. Up to some point, even wheelchaired visitors can enter the park. I guess the place now receives more visitors thanks to the pandemic … in any case, it’s a small comforting oasis surrounded by megalopolis housing complexes. If you visit or live nearby, please try the medieval war structure within a well-cared forest.

The space once Nakakuruwa stood

The remains of the building,
 excavated by the researchers

Beyond the large oaks,
 we can observe housing complexes …

From Nakakuruwa going down to
the present-day car approachable gate,
 there are toilets and potable water faucets.
 I think these days we need to carry soaps to use them.

This is the car-friendly entrance,
 though permit holding cars only.
 No parking for the Park.

I found a Japanese oakblue (Arhopala japonica)
 there in March. 😀

If you find a problem in Yokohama’s North Forests, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the North 北部公園緑地事務所

Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局

Phone: 045-311-2016

FAX: 045-316-8420

If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター

657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121

〒243－0121　厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/