Foundation of Sumpu Castle’s Main Tower

The foundation of Sumpu Castle’s keep, or tenshu, is the largest ever built in Japan. The keep burned down in 1635 and was never rebuilt. An ongoing archaeological study has revealed that part of the foundation is still intact. The site is open to the public, offering a rare chance to see some of the construction methods used to build stone fortifications in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616) lived in Sumpu (now the city of Shizuoka) in his youth. In the late 1580s he took control of Sumpu province and built Sumpu Castle. Ieyasu would later unify Japan under his control after his decisive victory at the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). He became shogun in 1603 but passed control to his son two years later and retired to Sumpu. In 1607, he embarked on an ambitious expansion of the castle. Daimyo from all over Japan were ordered to contribute to the project—many sent workers to dig moats and build walls. The workers engraved the crests of their domains and other symbols on some of the stones, many of which are still visible today.

Ieyasu’s new tenshu was rebuilt on the same site as the previous one, but on a much grander scale. The archaeological dig has uncovered the foundations of both the older and newer keeps, as well as that of a moat built before Ieyasu’s time. The way stone walls were constructed developed over time, and these changes can be seen in the different foundations. The stones of the earlier structures are uncut, and the walls have a gentle slope. The stones used for Ieyasu’s grand keepwere cut to fit snugly, and the walls are much steeper.

After the 1635 fire, most of the castle’s reconstruction was finished by 1638, but the tenshu keepwas never rebuilt. After the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, Sumpu Castle became the property of the newly established Empire of Japan. In 1896, the castle grounds were given to the Army and were used by the 34th Infantry Regiment. The top of the tenshu foundationwas demolished and used to fill in the innermost moat, creating a flat field to build barracks and other military buildings. In 1949, the city of Shizuoka purchased the site and transformed the grounds into a public park. Excavation of the foundation of the tenshu began in 2016.

 

Rebuilt Castle Gates and Turrets: Higashi Gomon, Tatsumi Yagura, and Hitsujisaru Yagura

Sumpu Castle was built in the late 1580s and was used until the late nineteenth century. One of the castle’s gates and two of its turrets, or yagura, have been rebuilt in the style of the castle during its heyday in the seventeenth century. Yagura were often built at the corners of perimeter walls. They were used as watchtowers, as defensive strongholds, and for weapons storage.

 

Higashi Gomon (Completed 1996)

The Higashi Gomon gate, located on the east side of the castle grounds, could only be used by important people. The gate is in the shape of an open square and has two sets of large, heavy doors. Defending forces could trap intruders who entered the gate by closing both sets of doors and attacking them from above. The thick walls of the gate have rectangular openings to accommodate bows and circular openings for guns. Hinged panels in the floorboards above the doors were used to drop rocks on attackers below.

 

Tatsumi Yagura (Completed 1989)

Tatsumi Yagura is a turret with a rare L-shaped design. The design of the gate dates to the large reconstruction project completed in 1638. The plans and artifacts excavated from the castle grounds are on display inside the turret. On the second floor is a reconstruction of the room at nearby Rinzaiji Temple where Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616) received lessons as a boy.

 

Hitsujisaru Yagura (Completed 2014)

Hitsujisaru Yagura is located in the southwest corner of Sumpu Castle. Its name combines the words for sheep (hitsuji) and monkey (saru), which are associated with the cardinal directions of south (sheep) and west (monkey) in East Asian geomancy. The exhibits inside the yagura show traditional Japanese construction and building techniques. Floorboards and ceiling panels have been removed to reveal the interior structure. One exhibit explains traditional carpentry through models of traditional joinery. Another shows one method of traditional wall construction—layers of bamboo and rope covered by clay, straw, and natural plaster.

 

Momijiyama Garden

Famous landmarks of Suruga province (now part of Shizuoka Prefecture) are re-created in miniature inside Momijiyama Garden. The paths in the garden are designed to provide views that evoke four distinct landscapes: a village, the sea, a mountain hamlet, and a mountain path.

The wooden pavilion just beyond the entrance gate suggests a village scene. The pavilion looks out over the pond, and the zig-zag bridge that cuts through a stand of iris recalls scenes from the ninth-century literary collection The Tales of Ise.

The pond represents the sea, and the rocks in the water and along the bank evoke the iconic coastal landscapes of the Izu Peninsula. For example, the white stones across from the pavilion suggest the curving, pine-tree-lined coast of Miho no Matsubara. A miniature Mt. Fuji on the other side of the pond echoes the view of the actual mountain from Miho no Matsubara.

The path through the mountain garden area pass by two waterfalls. One has a sheer drop and the other a gentle cascade; both are framed by maple trees and ivy. Aoi wild ginger (Asarum caulescens), which appears on the Tokugawa family crest, also grows near the falls.

A teahouse within the garden serves tea and sweets in the ryurei style, using tables and chairs instead of floor seating on tatami mats. In addition, the Unkai and Seigetsu-an tea houses are open for public viewing when not being used for private events.

The garden was built in 2001 on the location of the former castle’s kitchen.