Kaneishi castle
Kaneishi castle, located in Tsushima Fuchû (today, Izuhara-chô) on Tsushima Island was the seat of Tsushima han.
A mansion was initially established on the site (Kaneishi yakata) by Sô Masamori in 1528, following an internal clan dispute in which the Ike no yakata mansion was burned down.
This Kaneishi mansion was expanded and transformed into a castle by Sô Yoshizane around 1665 to 1669, following a number of severe fires (esp. in 1659 and 1661) which devastated the castle-town.[1]
The castle walls encircled an area roughly 400 meters from east to west, near the Kaneishi River, which flows east into the sea. A tower gate led to a large stone staircase, which in turn led to the honmaru of the castle - an elevated flat area where the chief administrative structures of the domain, and the chief residence of the Sô clan lords, were located.
A gate in the western section of the castle grounds known as the Karamete-mon connected the castle with a garden believed to have been completed in 1693 and the Sô clan cemetery at Banshô-in temple. The gate, originally built in the late 17th or early 18th century, was previously also known as the Akagane-mon (lit. "copper" or "bronze gate").[2]
The castle was expanded in preparation for the 1811 Korean embassy, during which Ogasawara Tadakata, lord of Kokura han, was granted use of the castle for his lodgings.
References
- Plaques on-site at former site of Kaneishi castle.[5]
