Mito Castle Ruins

I went there by bicycle. Climbing by bike was tough, but not impossible. The restored gate was very impressive. The nearby schools, such as the kindergarten and middle school, are also designed to match the traditional architecture of the area, making it well worth a visit.

History that is real

The castle of the Mito Tokugawa family, one of the three major families. Originally, the castle did not have a castle tower or stone walls, so if you come here today as a tourist, it may seem a bit unassuming, but if you walk around the castle, it will take advantage of the depth of the moat and the hills between the Naka River and Lake Senba. I can see how amazing it is. Some of the remains, such as the Otemon gate and the turret, have been restored. It seems that Senba Lake was once larger and connected to the Naka River, and the current deep moat was filled with water and turned into a moat. Apparently it was possible to take a boat from the castle to Kairakuen through the moat. It's amazing how the plainness brings out the good in it, giving it a Mito Tokugawa feel.

Due to fear from the Edo shogunate, castles near Edo did not build castle towers, and Mito Castle followed suit. However, it had a large turret called Gosankaiyagura, which had three floors on the outside and five floors on the inside, and was used as a substitute for the castle tower.It was destroyed in the Mito air raid during the Pacific War, and it seems that it was never rebuilt after that. Part of the castle ruins remains and has been maintained, but many of the current castle ruins are off-limits, and many schools and nursery schools are built there, but the impression is that the surrounding area is built to resemble a castle. It's a target.

I suddenly realized that I had never been to Mito Castle before, so I decided to visit it over the holidays. I went there without getting any information beforehand, but... it's huge. It's huge. A high school was built in the main enclosure, a high school, junior high school, elementary school, and kindergarten were built in the second enclosure, and there is a restored castle building in between. Ninomaru of Sendai Castle? Sannomaru? I was surprised that it was entirely Tohoku University, but this one was even bigger than that. Also, a railroad ran through the moat ruins between Honmaru and Ninomaru, and a bypass-like road ran through the moat ruins between Ninomaru and Sannomaru, so you can see that it was a huge moat. The Sannomaru Kodokan building was also extremely spacious and luxurious. Even though it was Sunday, there weren't many tourists, so it might be a little-known tourist spot. I wonder if everyone will go to Kairakuen?