Thursday, April 16, 2009

Suemori castle - すえもりじょう(末盛城)

Sometimes when you wander around without any fixed destination you get nice surprises.

The other day, when I was walking away from Motoyama's central avenue I arrived by chance to some stairs and a symbolic gate.

I was intrigued enough to go ahead so I went upstairs and I found the map above and a sign saying:

Suemori Castle Site

Lord Oda Nobuhide (1508-49) built this Castle here in 1548. The following year, his third son Nobuyuki (?-1558) became the castle lord, but was defeated in the battle of Inogahara where he fought against his elder brother Nobunaga (1534-82). It is said that the castle was doomed to abandonment in 1559.

It was nice to discover such a magic place only a few minutes away from that crowded crossing that I talked about in the previous post.

A woman was there using this kind of ladle that my friend Mitsue-san already showed me how to use, when we both travelled to Kamakura, two years ago.

After that, she started praying for sometime in front of the temple. I didn't want to ask her about her problems so we just had a shallow conversation ("this is a famous place" and the like).

Finally, I decided to return to Motoyama station. On the way back, the houses and streets seemed to be even more beautiful than before :).

3 comments:

Yuko said...

I didn't know that there is such a castle close to my home! Thank you for the information! I'll go there on a holiday with bringing my camera.

Have you ever been to Nagoya castle? To be honest, I've just been there a few weeks ago even though I've lived here for more than 6 years. Unfortunately, Nagoya castle is not that old because it's been completely burned out during the World War II and was rebuilt after the war. But, still you can enjoy it, I think. If you wanna see the old one, I recommend "Inuyama castle" in Inuyama city, which is relatively close to Nagoya, or "Matsumoto castle" in Matsumoto city (Nagano Prefecture), which is a little bit far from here. They are both designated as national treasures.

Angela said...

Hi Danieru,

It is nice to know about you. Japan seems awesome through your eyes. Keep enjoying and learning. :)

miru hito no
tabi o shi omoe
kakitsubata

(Soogi)

Sangorrin said...

Yuko: Yes, I've been to Nagoya castle the other day. There are volunteer guides in English the first and third Saturday of the month! I heard about Inuyama and Matsumoto, probably I will go some day, thanks for the advice!

Angela: Thank you! I see you know one haiku hehe