Japan Trip 2012, Day 8 - Hikone Castle

Picture album: http://caelk.shutterfly.com/pictures/359

Alright, well my first day on my own. I had come here with a bunch of friends, but by this point all but one had left Japan, and the other was in Hokkaido (doing nothing in between as far as I could tell) because he didn't mind spending even more money to get him there faster. I decided the expenditure of either money for expedient travel (round trip flight) or time for free travel (a full day on a train, one way) was too much, so we went our seperate ways.

So, this week I had planned out, and the first stop was Hikone Castle. Walking out to the streets of Hikone, I followed my general sense of direction until I reached the castle's outer moat. From there, convenient maps were around that directed me to an actual entrance.

The Lords of Hikone started their succession with Ii Naomasa, from the Ii family. As a commander and general, he had a reputation for dressing both himself and the troops he led into combat in blood red armor, a habit that earned him the nickname Red Devil. He would also be known as one of the four most elite generals serving under the future shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Tokugawa Shitennou (徳川四天王, Tokugawa's Four Divine Lords). Needless to say, his military exploits were nothing short of astounding. For his servitude, the Ii family was given the area of Hikone to rule following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Unfortunately, Naomasa himself would not see the castle his ancestors would headquarter themselves at - he died of wounds received from Sekigahara in 1602.

His son, Ii Naokatsu, then ordered the castle built in 1603. The main tower, Tenshu (天守, which I believe is just the term for the main keep of any castle) was said to have been originally at Otsu Castle. It was transported to Hikone Castle and rebuilt, where it stands to this day. The entirety of the castle was completed in 1622, the main keep being designated as a National Treasure.

The castle grounds contain three attractions for which a fee is required to see: the castle grounds, the castle garden, and the museum. You can get a combination ticket with all three, and I recommend you at least see the grounds and the museum.

Trouble seemed to follow me, however - no sooner did I walk in did I realize that my Japan Rail Pass had slipped out of my back pocket somehow, despite me never reaching into it for anything on the way over. I excused myself from the premises (telling the ticket counter staff what I was doing), and retraced my steps looking for it. On the way, I discovered that some people just shut off their brain as soon as you talk to them about anything they're not familiar with. About a half-minute walk from said experience, I found my $360 one-week all-you-can-use pass to every JR line plus select Shinkansen lines (that's the Japan Rail Pass, and yes it is that awesome) on the sidewalk, which definitely wasn't sold at Lawson despite their best efforts to convince me I could buy tickets there. I thought of stopping by Lawson again to clear that up, but I was sold out of explanations at that time and went back to the castle. My JR Pass went into my backpack, and stayed there.

At the ticket counter, you can go into the museum immediately (since it's right there), but I was a little worried about time since I had other plans that day as well. I would save it for last if I thought I had the time, and instead ducked into the castle grounds, which is covered in trees. A path upward brought me under yet another gate, and having previously passed over two bridged moats and the ticket counter entrance, I concluded that the place was built with chokepoints in mind. Not surprising in the least.

After the gate and up more of a hill, the main tower comes into view. Like a lot of towers, there's not too much to do but go up it. If you've been to Japanese castles, nothing'll be new really, it's just another keep with really steep stairs. About the only difference is, of course, this keep's been around since the early 1600's, which isn't something that can be said about a lot of them. On the way, there are windows you can look out (though barred with wires) and the occasional exhibit.

Past this, there are a few other buildings on the castle grounds you can look at, or you can just continue on the path. Once you're past the main tower, the path quickly returns to the wooded scenery seen on the way up. You can take it all the way around the castle grounds and end up where you started, or you can take a fork off the road and across a bridge. For those of you who spent money on the combination ticket, you'll probably want to do this since it leads you to the next attraction: Genkyuu-en.

The garden was built by the 4th Lord of Hikone, Ii Naooki, starting in 1677. It would see completion in seven years, and would feature two buildings on its premises: Houshoudai and Rinchikaku. I didn't go into the latter, but Houshoudai is (possibly was) used as a tea house, except not too many people were sitting down to relax here. Especially not for 500 yen per cup. Small islands dot the rather large pond that take up pretty much the entire garden, which are connected with a network of bridges.

Following the road out, you'll find yourself on a dirt path which leads itself back to the ticket counter, but not before passing a statue of Ii Naosuke, one of the most prominent members of the family. Naosuke found himself the head of the Ii family in a historically awkward point in Japanese history.

In 1858, he was appointed tairou by Tokugawa Iesada, the shogun at that time. Part of the responsibilities of the tairou were to stand in for the shogun in the event he is unable to perform his duties, such as if the shogun died... which he did, that very same year. Not only that, he died without an heir, at a time when every major European power was banging on Japan's door for one-sided trade treaties. Long story short, Ii Naosuke put the 12 year old Tokugawa Yoshitomi in the office of shogun, which angered the anti-foreign groups wanting to give that title to the much more capable Hitotsubashi Keiki. He then ordered, without the approval of the figure-head emperor, various treaties with the foreign powers, figuring that refusal would lead to an attack on Japan much like was done to China. And to top it all off, any government official who protested his policies were silenced first, then disenfranchised later.

This made him very unpopular among certain circles, and he was assassinated in front of the Sakurada gate at Edo Castle, 24 March 1860. Even though his family bore some amount of public disgrace, the sort of policies that Naosuke put into place weren't abolished upon his death. In fact, they stayed around, surviving even the regime change of the Meiji Restoration, continuing to influence Japan's attitude towards foreign affairs.

At the end of the path I found myself right back at the ticket counter where I originally purchased my tickets, the castle grounds and the garden taking up three hours of my time. It was 14:00, and I with a quick number crunch, I figured I had an hour to look at the museum. I am very glad I did. Of course there are a few... okay, a lot of things like tools and shogi boards and clothing that you can see in just about any museum. The obligatory swords however were fairly outstanding: a tachi from the 1200s in near pristine condition, a Bizen Osafune katana, and a wakizashi owned by Ii Naosuke himself. Turn your head to the left of these blades, however, and you'll see this.

The museum's crown jewel comes in the form of a blood-red suit of armor personally owned by Ii Naokatsu, son of Ii Naomasa and the second Lord of Hikone. It is about as imposing as it is majestic, though in all honesty it was likely just one of many he used... one that escaped much wear from either time or battle. Other than that, the museum has its own garden and a Noh stage which you can look at while looking at the various artifacts on display.

If I were to say what stood out about Hikone Castle, I'd definitely go with the museum and the suit of armor. The grounds were interesting, including the garden, though despite its age, the tower was like most towers I've seen.

Helping promote tourism in Hikone, is a cute mascot character since every tourism spot needs one. His name is Hiko-nyan, the samurai cat, and he fills his role well. Plushies of him can be found even in the hotels in the area, and... well, I'll just let you see for yourselves.

Once again, the picture album, including all the stuff in the museum and multiple shots of the garden, are at my public album site.
http://caelk.shutterfly.com/pictures/359