Goryokaku

The remains of Japan's first and largest Western-style bastion castle still stand in Goryokaku-cho, Hakodate City. Its official name is Kameda Yakusho Dorui, but it is commonly known as Goryokaku because of its V-shaped bastion and five-pointed star-shaped castle. In June 1854 (Ansei 1), the shogunate appointed the Hakodate Magistrate in order to respond to the opening of Hakodate Port under the Kanagawa Treaty and Russia's southward expansion policy, and planned the construction of the Kameda Yakusho Dorui, Benten Misaki Battery, and other facilities as part of the magistrate's office. Construction of Goryokaku began in 1857 (Ansei 4) and was completed in 1864 (Genji 1). The castle was designed and supervised by Takeda Ayasaburo Nariaki, a native of Iyo-Ozu Domain (Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture), and is said to have been built based on Western castle construction books. The star-shaped bastion-style fortification is characterized by the absence of blind spots for firing from within the castle walls, and Tatsuoka Castle in Minamisaku County, Nagano Prefecture, which was also built at the end of the Edo period, is of the same style. Goryokaku has an area of ​​approximately 251,400 square meters, a height of approximately 5 meters, and a triangular earthwork outside the southwestern Otemon Gate as a horse-drawn platform. The castle walls are surrounded by a moat, and further earthworks are built on the east, west, and south sides outside the moat. There were more than 30 buildings inside the castle walls, including a 3,300m2 main building with a wooden, tiled watchtower.

In April 1868 (Keio 4), the new government established the Hakodate Court and appointed Shimizudani Kinnaru as its governor-general. Thereafter, Goryokaku was occupied by the former Shogunate forces led by Enomoto Takeaki and served as their headquarters until May 1869 (Meiji 2), when the Hakodate War ended. As a result of the war, part of the watchtower attached to the main building was destroyed. The main building was demolished in 1971 after the war. In 1973, Goryokaku was transferred to the Ministry of the Army, but in 1914 (Taisho 3), it was opened as a park and became a famous cherry blossom viewing spot. It was designated a national historic site in 1949, and a special historic site in 1952 (Showa 27). Currently, there is a annex of the city museum, and a restored munitions storehouse is open to the public.

[Funatsu Isao]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

函館(はこだて)市五稜郭町に現存するわが国最大・最初の西洋式稜堡(りょうほ)式城跡。正式名は亀田(かめだ)役所土塁というが、V字形の堡頭(ほとう)をもった五稜星形築城なので五稜郭と通称されている。幕府は神奈川条約による箱館(はこだて)開港と、ロシアの南下政策などに対応するため、1854年（安政1）6月、箱館奉行(ぶぎょう)を配置、奉行所として亀田役所土塁、弁天岬台場などの築造を計画した。五稜郭は1857年（安政4）に着工、64年（元治1）に竣工(しゅんこう)した。設計と監督は伊予(いよ)大洲(おおず)藩（愛媛県大洲市）出身の武田斐三郎成章(あやさぶろうなるあき)で、西洋の築城書をもとに築城したといわれる。星形の稜堡式築城は、郭内からの射撃に死角がないことが特長で、同じく幕末に築造された長野県南佐久郡の竜岡(たつおか)城も同型のものである。五稜郭は郭内約25万1400平方メートル、郭高約5メートル、南西の追手門(おうてもん)外に馬出(うまだし)として三角土塁があり、郭には濠(ほり)が巡らされ、濠外の東西南三方には、さらに土塁が設けられている。郭内には木造瓦葺(かわらぶ)き望楼付き900坪の本庁舎など、30余棟の建物が並んでいた。

　1868年（慶応4）4月、新政府は箱館裁判所を設置し、総督に清水谷公考(しみずだにきんなる)を任命した。その後、箱館戦争終了の69年（明治2）5月まで、五稜郭は榎本武揚(えのもとたけあき)の率いる旧幕府軍に占拠され、その本拠となった。戦争の結果、本庁舎に付属する望楼が一部破壊された。本庁舎は戦争後の71年に解体された。73年、五稜郭は陸軍省に移管されたが、1914年（大正3）公園として開放、サクラの名所となった。22年国の史跡、52年（昭和27）特別史跡に指定された。現在、市立博物館分館があり、復原された兵糧庫が一般公開されている。

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