【歴史じっくり紀行】OSHIRO vol.93 姫路城 兵庫県姫路市にある「西国将軍」池田輝政が築いたお城を訪れた！！【ゆっくり解説】【お城巡り】【日本観光】【世界遺産】
Hello everyone! Welcome to OSHIRO! Today’s castle is Himeji Castle, located in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture. Here’s a quick quiz: Which of Himeji Castle’s other names is correct? A. White Phoenix Castle B. White Heron Castle C. White Dragon Castle D. White Tiger Castle The answer is B, White Heron Castle. It’s also known as “Shirasagijo” or “Hakurojo.” Its beautiful white exterior resembles a white heron spreading its wings, hence the name. Let’s go see the castle for ourselves. Himeji Castle is a flatland castle centered on Mount Hime, a 46-meter-high mountain in the center of Himeji City. Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, is about an hour by train from Osaka or Kyoto. The name “Himeji” is said to come from Mount Hime’s ancient name, “Himeji no Oka, ” meaning “Himeji Hill.” Another theory is that the name was chosen because silkworms were once called “himeko,” and the area flourished as a silkworm farm. Rising from this historic landscape, Himeji Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of Japan’s largest and best-preserved castles. Standing approximately 46 meters tall, it’s roughly the size of a 15-story building. By global standards, the castle tower is roughly the same height as the Statue of Liberty (excluding the pedestal) . The castle once had a triple moat structure, consisting of an outer moat, a central moat, and an inner moat, with a total length of 11.5 kilometers. The site covers approximately 233 hectares, roughly the size of 50 Tokyo Domes. The castle town covers 187 hectares . The remaining inner moat today covers 23 hectares , and more than 80 buildings are arranged like a maze, showcasing the finest architectural techniques and defensive design of the Warring States period. Himeji Castle was first built by Akamatsu Sadanori in 1346. The current Himeji Castle was completed in 1601 with extensive expansions by Ikeda Terumasa. Akamatsu Sadanori was a military commander active from the Northern and Southern Courts period through the early Muromachi period . He was a member of the Akamatsu clan, based in Harima Province (present-day central-western Hyogo Prefecture). At the time, Japan was in the Nanboku-cho period (1336-1392), a period of conflict between the Southern and Northern Courts following the collapse of Emperor Godaigo’s Kenmu Restoration. The Akamatsu clan initially supported Emperor Godaigo, but later switched to Ashikaga Takauji’s Northern Court and expanded their influence. The Akamatsu clan temporarily declined, but regained power under Sadanori. Sadanori left the castle in the hands of the Kodera clan and moved to Shoyama Castle himself. The Akamatsu clan subsequently declined. From the late 15th century to the 1580s, real power in Harima Province shifted to the Kodera clan. The Kodera clan expanded and renovated Himeji Castle, transforming it into a Sengoku period castle. They also built Gochaku Castle. This castle is located about 6 kilometers east of Himeji Castle. Since Gochaku Castle was the main castle, Himeji Castle served as a secondary castle. Kuroda Shigetaka, the grandfather of the famous Kuroda Kanbei, entered Himeji Castle as a deputy for the Kodera clan, and Kanbei was born here. The Kuroda clan was the chief retainer of the Kodera clan. The Kodera clan was a small Sengoku daimyo in Harima Province, sandwiched between the Mori clan to the west and the Oda clan to the east. The head of the family, Kodera Masamoto, supported the Mori clan, but Kuroda Kanbei, the chief Kodera vassal, foresaw the situation and proposed cooperating with Oda Nobunaga. He persuaded the surrounding powerful clans to side with the Oda clan, and in 1580 presented Himeji Castle to Hideyoshi. This brought the entire Harima province under Oda’s control, and Himeji Castle became Hideyoshi’s key base against the Mori clan. In 1581, Hideyoshi built a three-story castle tower at Himeji Castle (different from the current castle tower). The castle continued to change hands, but Hideyoshi’s family remained in charge. On June 2, 1582, Hideyoshi’s lord, Oda Nobunaga, was killed by Akechi Mitsuhide. His death brought great chaos both within and outside the Oda clan. Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was in charge of the Chugoku region, had flooded Takamatsu Castle in Bitchu and was facing off against Shimizu Muneharu, a warrior of the Mori clan. Upon learning of Oda Nobunaga’s death, Hashiba Hideyoshi blocked the highways and imposed strict information control to prevent news of Nobunaga’s death from reaching the Mori clan . He then made peace with the Mori clan in exchange for the castle’s lord, Shimizu Muneharu, committing seppuku. This marked the beginning of Hideyoshi’s “Chugoku Great Return. ” “Chugoku” refers to the Chugoku region (Hiroshima, Okayama, Tottori, Shimane, and Yamaguchi). Hideyoshi’s army traveled approximately 32 kilometers per day, a distance that would normally take several weeks to travel, but they arrived in Kyoto in just five days. The soldiers traveled light, leaving their 30kg armor on board the ship. While making peace with the Mori clan, they defeated Akechi Mitsuhide and successfully avenged their master. This swift action further enhanced Hideyoshi’s fame. How was Hashiba Hideyoshi able to accomplish the astonishing “Great Return from the Chugoku Era” ? The secret lies in the fact that he had originally requested reinforcements from Nobunaga. At the time, Hideyoshi was fighting the Mori clan and asked Nobunaga for reinforcements to gain an advantage on the front lines. Nobunaga accepted this request and dispatched Akechi Mitsuhide as an advance guard. However, there was a delicate relationship here. Akechi Mitsuhide and Hashiba Hideyoshi were rivals within the Oda clan, constantly competing for success over diplomacy and military achievements . They were particularly at odds over diplomatic negotiations with the Chosokabe clan of Shikoku, and Hideyoshi, who was in charge of the Mori front, ultimately prevailed. If Mitsuhide were to march as Hideyoshi’s reinforcements, he would be under Hideyoshi’s command. Mitsuhide was not happy about this, so even though he was preparing his troops, he did not head to the Chugoku region. Instead , he returned to Kyoto. He then killed his lord, Oda Nobunaga, at Honnoji Temple. This is the Honnoji Incident. One theory is that Nobunaga, meanwhile, planned to dispatch Mitsuhide first, then head to battle with the Mori clan himself. Hideyoshi had therefore prepared to welcome Nobunaga. He had gathered ships at the port and stockpiled large quantities of military provisions. However, after Nobunaga was killed at Honnoji Temple, these ships were no longer in use. Hideyoshi ordered his soldiers to “leave their armor on the ships and lighten their loads.” Armor at the time weighed approximately 30 kilometers. Having stripped off their armor and donned light clothing, the soldiers raced to Kyoto in just five or six days, a distance that would normally take several weeks. This was the mechanism behind the miraculous march that would later be called the “Chugoku Great Return.” Upon arriving at Himeji Castle, Hideyoshi reorganized his troops. He then distributed all of the castle’s gold and silver to his soldiers to boost their morale in preparation for the decisive battle with Akechi Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi then defeated Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki, avenging his master, Oda Nobunaga. After the battle, Hideyoshi moved his base from Himeji Castle to Tennozan Castle and then to Osaka Castle, marking his path to becoming the most powerful man in Japan. The current Himeji Castle was built by Ikeda Terumasa, a military commander from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period. The Ikeda family was originally a vassal of Oda Nobunaga. Terumasa made a great contribution in the Battle of Sekigahara and was given Himeji Castle as part of the post-war settlement. He moved from Yoshida, Mikawa Province (present-day Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture), where he had previously ruled , and carried out extensive castle expansion here. So why was Ikeda Terumasa able to build such a massive castle? The Tokugawa government imposed strict restrictions on castle renovation and construction , as exemplified by the “One Castle per Province” order and the “demolition of Fukushima Masanori . ” Castles were military facilities and symbols of power for the shogunate. Despite this, why were large-scale fortifications like Himeji Castle permitted to be built? To explore this, we first look at the origins of the Ikeda family. Ikeda Terumasa’s mother was actually Oda Nobunaga’s wet nurse. She later became a concubine of Nobunaga’s father, Oda Nobuhide, making the Ikeda family extremely close to the Oda clan. Terumasa’s father, Ikeda Tsuneoki, was also a senior retainer of the Oda clan. He was assigned to the right wing at the Battle of Yamazaki, where Akechi Mitsuhide was defeated, and his achievements earned him a position as a senior retainer in the Oda clan. However, he was later killed in battle at the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, where Hashiba Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu clashed. Hideyoshi needed to gain the support of the former Oda vassals as he took over the Oda government and moved to unify the country . For this reason, he could not treat the Ikeda family, which had close ties to the Oda clan, poorly. Hideyoshi gave the Ikeda family the surnames Hashiba and Toyotomi, and also married Terumasa’s sister to the wife of his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. In other words, the Ikeda family was treated as a “quasi-Toyotomi clan” with strong ties to the bloodlines of both the Oda and Toyotomi families. Furthermore, Hideyoshi, who had few children, mediated a marriage between Terumasa and Tokugawa Ieyasu’s daughter, Tokuhime. This allowed the Ikeda family to gain influence over all three major powers: Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa. The Ikeda family became a special family with strong ties to the Tokugawa clan. After Hideyoshi’s death, the Ikeda clan grew closer to the Tokugawa clan. The decisive Battle of Sekigahara took place. After the war, Tokugawa Ieyasu was in a position to freely reorganize his territories throughout the country. At this time, Ieyasu was most wary of the Toyotomi-affiliated daimyo scattered throughout the western provinces. While outwardly maintaining the Toyotomi clan, Ieyasu needed to keep the “Tokugawa’s eye” on the west. To that end, he needed someone who would not be distrusted by the Toyotomi clan and who would also abide by the Tokugawa clan’s wishes. The Ikeda clan, with ties to the Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa clans, was chosen . Ikeda Terumasa was transferred to Himeji as the key figure in monitoring the west, and assumed the role of “Western Shogun.” Thus, Terumasa built a magnificent castle in Himeji. Construction took approximately eight years, and its scale and beauty are unparalleled. Himeji Castle was not merely the residence of a feudal lord; it also served as a military base for the Tokugawa government, which controlled the western provinces. Behind the castle’s imposing appearance lies the complex intertwining of the lineage and position of Ikeda Terumasa, as well as the intentions of the two powers, Toyotomi and Tokugawa. It took Ikeda Terumasa approximately nine years to build this magnificent castle. Incidentally, it’s said that a total of approximately 25 million people were mobilized for the castle’s construction, demonstrating the grand scale of its construction. After Terumasa’s death, the Ikeda clan was transferred to Inaba Province and Tottori. Later, Honda Tadamasa, a Tokugawa fudai daimyo, took possession of Himeji Castle. From then on, fudai daimyo such as the Matsudaira, Sakakibara, and Sakai clans successively served as lords of the castle. After the Honda clan, the Himeji domain’s kokudaka was said to have been around 150,000 koku, a significant decrease from the 520,000 koku under the Ikeda clan. In the case of the Ikeda clan, it is said that the total kokudaka, including the estates of their sons, reached a whopping 1 million koku. As the “Chinzei Shogun” who kept a watchful eye over the western provinces, Himeji was a gateway to the Sanyo Road and a strategic point to Sanin. However, after the Honda clan, it was necessary to maintain the enormous Himeji Castle with a limited budget of 150,000 koku, and this is said to have been a considerable financial burden. Thank you for watching until the end. What did you think of this tour of Himeji Castle? Please subscribe to our channel and give it a high rating. Next time, we will visit Wakayama Castle. Please look forward to it.
OSHIRO vol.93 姫路城 兵庫県姫路市にある「西国将軍」池田輝政が築いたお城を訪れた！！
兵庫県姫路市にそびえる、日本を代表する名城・姫路城を巡りました！
真っ白な天守が美しい「白鷺城（はくろじょう）」の名で知られるこのお城は、ユネスコ世界遺産にも登録された日本最大級の城郭です。
動画では、赤松貞範による築城から池田輝政による大改修まで、姫路城が歩んだ壮大な歴史を現地映像とともに紹介します。
黒田官兵衛や羽柴秀吉ゆかりの地としても知られ、中国大返しの舞台となった姫路の物語をたっぷりとお届けします。
白く輝く天守の美しさと、戦国から江戸へ続くドラマを、どうぞゆっくりお楽しみください。
📍所在地
〒670-0012 兵庫県姫路市本町68
🚆 アクセス方法
・JR「姫路駅」または山陽電鉄「山陽姫路駅」から徒歩約20分
・姫路駅北口から神姫バス「姫路城大手門前」行きで約5分、「大手門前」下車すぐ
・車の場合：姫路バイパス「中地ランプ」から約15分（周辺に有料駐車場あり）
🕰️ 開城時間（参考）
午前9:00～午後17:00（最終入城は午後16:00）
※季節により変動あり
👀 こんな人におすすめ！
・お城巡りや日本史が好きな方
・世界遺産や歴史スポットを旅したい方
・羽柴秀吉や黒田官兵衛など、戦国武将の歴史に興味がある方
・観光地の裏にあるストーリーを知りたい方
・ゆったりとした映像で癒されたい方
#姫路城 #お城巡り #日本観光 #世界遺産 #歴史探訪 #OSHIROチャンネル
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OSHIRO
東洋の島国である日本の歴史が大好きです。このチャンネルを通して少しでも日本の文化をや歴史を知っていただきたいと思い、お城やお城跡を中心に巡ります。
時代は１５世紀から１６世紀のお城跡を巡ります。日本史で特に人気のある戦国時代です。
日本は群雄割拠します。そして多くの英雄が登場します。彼らが乱世を生き残るために様々な工夫をするのですが、結果、日本は中世から近世へと時代区分が進化することになりました。大変、革新的な時代です。
その地域の歴史や大局的な歴史が結びつき、さらに観光地とも結びつくことで、とても興味深い物語を体験できます。
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