八王子城跡 大手の門跡

The archaeological excavation confirmed the remains of Otemon. There is a main shrine ahead, and a bridge is built in front of it. (From the Hachioji City website below) It is a mountain castle built by Hojo Ujiteru (1590), the third generation of Odawara Hojo, the third son of Ujiyasu, who was based in Odawara. It is not clear when the castle was built, but it is presumed that Ujiteru moved from Takiyama Castle between the 12th year of the Tensho era (1584) and the 15th year of the Tensho era (1587). On June 23, 1590, as part of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's control of the Kanto region, he was attacked by Toshiie Maeda and Kagekatsu Uesugi and fell. Odawara Castle, which continued to be a siege with the fall of Hachioji Castle as the decisive factor, was opened and Hojo was destroyed. At this time, Ujiteru was in a basket castle in Odawara, and after the castle opened, he and his brother Ujimasa were seppuku in the castle. Hachioji Castle is one of the best mountain castles in the Kanto region. The castle that Ujiteru envisioned was magnificent, and it is believed that it was still unfinished when the castle fell. The castle is roughly divided into a "Negoya district", which is a castle town, a "residential district" such as the "main shrine ruins" where the castle owner Ujiteru's mansion was located, and a "harmful district" which becomes a fortress during battle. At the turning point of the 400th anniversary of the fall of the castle in 1990, passages such as stone walls and koguchi in the main shrine area and old roads leading to the main shrine were constructed. For the stone pavement and stone wall, the ones confirmed by excavation at that time are utilized as much as possible, and even the damaged parts are restored as faithfully as possible to the shape at that time. In addition, a management building was built to guide visitors, and a Hachioji Castle information board was installed in the plaza. The area around Hachioji Castle was under the direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period, and was a national forest after the Meiji era. It was. The fortified area is created by skillfully utilizing the terrain of Fukasawa (Shiroyama). A main enclosure is set up at the top, and a flat ground called "Kuruwa" is placed around it to prevent the invasion and attack of enemies. In April 2006, it was selected as one of the "100 Famous Japanese Castles" by the Japan Castle Association because it retains its good condition as a mountain castle in the Warring States. In addition to Hachioji Castle, Takiyama Castle has been selected as one of the "Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles" in Hachioji City.

The ruins of a major gate excavated on the old road leading to the main shrine of Hachioji Castle. The cornerstone is now backfilled.

According to the volunteer guide, there was a big gate around here. It's a surprisingly modest gate φ (...) It is the size of the back gate of Iwatsuki Castle. I imagined a huge thing because it was the main gate of Hachioji Castle.