Inukai-jō Castle Ruins — Attraction in Matsumoto

Inukaijō was somewhat more interesting than I had expected. The neat row of baileys running along the hilltop numbered six, and I enjoyed counting as I went up and down over them. Firstly I came to bailey number six, where there is a modern lookout platform giving nice views of Matsumoto City and the surrounding plains, particularly to the northwest, which is a mixture of residential and agrarian land. A river borders the castle mount. Looking to the city and beyond we can see the mountains and slopes which contain many castle ruins; I've not been yet but I anticipate they'll be even more exciting than Inukaijō, if a little more inaccessable. At first I didn't even notice, but between the tops of two trees one has a clear view of the main keep of Matsumotojō. I think the zoom function on my camera has diminished somehow and I could only get a clear shot zooming in half way unfortunately. I was a little disappointed about that but subsequent investigating of Inukaijō, rather than Matsumotojō, roused my spirit again.

Between the sixth and fifth baileys is a trench which clearly slopes off down the mountain into an old climbing trench. Horikiri, or trenches which dice a mountain ridge, are very distinctive features; if one stands in them on their level parts, one can see the slopes of the trench to eachside, and then the sudden and abrupt descent of the mountain, usually against a wall of foliage, as it tumbles precariously over the edge of the level part.

The fourth bailey is set a little apart from the fifth. Partially surrounding the fourth bailey is a karabori, which has been restored, preserved or damaged, depending on how you want to look at it, with concrete. Any stone walls seen at Inukaijō are likewise modern. What looked like a remnant of dorui (earth-piled rampart) segment was also adjacent to the moat.

A large trench separates the fourth bailey with the uppermost baileys. The third, second and first baileys are clustered together. The first bailey is an elevated portion bordered by the second and third. The third bailey seems like a trailing bailey of the second, but there is no apparent difference in elevation or break between them so maybe there were originally separated by palings.

To one side of this ladder of baileys is the steep slope of the mountain against the river, and to the other is an expansive flattened area which is now a park. It seems that this has been a green space for people together from since the Edo Period when the Lord of Matsumoto opened it up to...

犬甘城跡 現在城跡は城山公園として整備され展望台などがあり、園内は桜がたくさんあり春には桜の名所にもなります。 実はこの城山公園、明治八年(1875年)松本最初の公園です。前身は幕末の藩政時代、藩主戸田氏がこの地一帯を開放し、桜・楓などを植えて君民遊楽の地としたことに始まりますが、中世山城の遺構として主郭や空堀も現在なお残っており、往時を偲ぶことができます。 【歴史】 天文十九年(1550年)武田信玄は信濃の小笠原長時を攻撃すべく松本平に侵攻。小笠原氏の本城である林城をはじめ、その周辺に配置された、深志城、犬甘城、岡田城、桐原城、山家城など小笠原氏諸城は次々と落とされていきました。 犬甘城はこの頃に廃城になったとされます。 【アクセス】 JR 大糸線島内駅の東およそ900mにあり、現在は城山公園になっており駐車場もあります。 #お城 #城 #城跡 #山城 #城巡り #長野県...

犬甘城の位置がちょっと違っていたと思うのでgoogleに訂正。 犬甘城は信濃守護・小笠原氏に仕えた犬甘氏の居城。山麓の犬甘館を平時の居館とし、この城を詰城としており、1550年（天文19年）の武田晴信による信濃侵攻の際には、犬甘大炊助が守っていたが、馬場信房の計略で乗っ取られたと言われている。おそらくそのまま廃城となり、江戸時代後期の1843年（天保14年）には松本藩主・戸田光庸が領民に公園として開放されたとネットで記載されている。 現在も堀切や土塁な...