Iwatsuki Castle Ruins - Saitama

Looking at the information board called the castle built in the swampy area that connects to the former Arakawa River, the first impression is that it is a very unusual structure. Moreover, Arakawa is a dangerous element in a sense that even after the Showa era, it caused enormous damage due to flood damage. Until about 50 years ago, the city of Iwatsuki was located at the eastern end of the Omiya Plateau, and paddy fields spread near the Motoara River. The city was on a plateau and was the area where the samurai residences of the former vassals and the townspeople lived. Normally, the castle owner's residence is built at a higher place overlooking the surroundings, but the opposite is true here, where vassals and tradesmen live in the higher places, and it seems that the castle owner's residence was on a lower land. Currently, there is a place named "Honmaru", but the area where the central building seems to have existed may be different from the current castle ruins park. Currently, there is a swamp slightly upstream of the Tobu Noda Line railway bridge on the right bank of the Motoara River, but this is the remnant swamp of the Motoara River (Arakawa at that time) and was once the outer moat of Iwatsuki Castle. From the terrain at that time and the place name "Honmaru", there is no doubt that the current castle ruins park was not the central area of ​​the castle. The park itself is now called "Castle Park", but the old man called it "Ohayashi Park". As I felt at the bell of time, Iwatsuki has a history and tradition, but it seems that its value is neglected by itself, and such a heritage is not utilized at all. It's hard to talk about the renovation of the station building around this time. When the means of transportation was horses and walking, the castle town Iwatsuki, which is located almost equidistant from Nakasendo and Nikko Kaido, was by far superior to the post towns Urawa, Omiya, and Kasukabe, and probably did not compete with Kawagoe. I wonder. Kawagoe now has a strong presence as a tourist destination, while Iwatsuki is swallowed by Saitama City centered on Urawa and Omiya. Isn't this just Gekokujo? I've heard from an old man that Kawagoe, Omiya, and Kasukabe took the railroad attraction and Iwatsuki refused because there was nothing to scatter such smoke. As a result, Omiya Station was born, which has led to its current development. If so, it means that it was none other than Iwatsuki himself who brought about Gekokujo.

It is the earthworks and the sky moat that are fun to see at the ruins of this castle. Probably, you can still see the earthwork and sky moat inside the building that had been added many times since the castle was built, and you can walk. Although it is the Iwatsuki castle ruins, it is located around the Shinkuwa, which was a little far from the main and Ninomaru. At that time, the flow of Arakawa was also different, and the castle itself seemed to be a territory that made use of the swamp by drawing in the river. The castle is also known as Dota Ota, but also Mr. Narita of Shinobi Castle. Certainly, looking at the restored map at that time is also reminiscent of "Ukijo," which made the best use of the swamp, so it is understandable that the theory of "Narita's Narita"'s construction of a castle appears. However, if you try to build a castle along the Arakawa River, it will naturally become a "marsh floating castle", and it may not have been Mr. Narita's original technology, so I cannot say anything.

Saitama Prefecture designated historic site Iwatsuki Castle Ruins Iwatsuki Castle is a vast flat castle that uses a plateau, and was a floating castle surrounded by one of the largest water moats. Currently, the main enclosure of Honmaru Ninomaru Sannomaru is a residential area, and Shinkuruwa and Blacksmith Kuruwa in the south have been maintained as Iwatsuki Castle Ruins Park and designated as a historic site. Iwatsuki Castle Ruins Park was named "Iwatsuki Park" when it opened, but it was renamed to the current Iwatsuki Castle Ruins Park when the former Iwatsuki City merged with Saitama City. In the castle ruins park, the remnants of the medieval castle, such as the horse riding of the Kuruwa and the earthworks, remain, and the black gate and the back gate have been relocated and remain.

There are also children's athletics, and at this time of year, the ice that exceeds 1 cm is often stretched, and even if you can not play with snow, small children can enjoy playing with ice with great excitement. I live in Koshigaya City, but when I go to the castle ruins park when the ice is thin, the ice is many times thicker. Even if you go around the park all around, you can find the carp and turtles in the pond at a reasonable distance, and your child will be absorbed in it. It was nice that there was a candy store nearby, but I wonder if something happened and it has been closed about twice.

One of Saitama's three famous castles. A part of the vast castle area has been converted into a park, and in addition to the clay bridge and deep empty moat, valuable building remains such as the black gate and postern remain.

It's a place full of memories from a playground from an early age. It's been buried now, but I felt like exploring a little by fishing for crayfish in the swamp of the moat and entering the air raid shelter made by digging the side of the earthworks. If you start talking about the Tarzan pretend, grass baseball, firecracker play, pond ice, etc., there is no end to it (^ o ^)

Now it's a park of relaxation, from Ukijo to a playground for families. The vestiges of being attacked by Hideyoshi Taiko in the battle after the conquest of the Hojo clan have almost disappeared. However, it seems that the local people's actions to preserve history have taken shape now.