[Castle EXPO 2016, Part 1] Rakugo storyteller Shota Shunputei spoke passionately about "castles" in Yokohama on Christmas Eve!

A castle without a castle? A lively venue filled with stories!

The talk event with Shota Shunputei, Yoshihiro Senda, and Sachiko Hagiwara was held on Christmas Eve, the 24th, the middle day of Ojo EXPO 2016 .

Even though it was Christmas Eve, the three people were happy to see so many castle fans gathered in Yokohama for the Japanese Castle event.

Moreover, the theme of this talk event is not the generally known castles with castle towers, but "talking about the charm of mountain castles!" He's quite a maniac.

“First of all, I would like to say that there will not be any photos of the castle tower in this talk event. Please note that all that will be shown are plain brown and green photos (lol).”

said Shota. As expected from a rakugo performer, the audience burst into laughter from the beginning.

When we hear the word ``castle'', what comes to mind is usually the magnificent castle tower, moat, and stone walls of Himeji Castle or Osaka Castle.

However, most of the castles in the Sengoku period before Nobunaga Oda were "mountain castles".
Mountain castles took advantage of the topography of the mountain to build moats and earthworks, and there were many traps, making it extremely difficult to attack, and the mountain itself was a military facility, a ``fortress.''

・Medieval castles = mountain castles are the mainstream! /Early modern castles = Hirayama Castle and Heijo are the mainstream
・Medieval castle = walls made of earth! /Early modern castle = walls are stone

Many people may think that a castle without a castle tower is a little unsatisfactory as a tourist spot, but the word "castle" originally does not refer to a castle tower, but rather a fortress that includes a moat and a house. .

In particular, medieval mountain castles were often built to match the mountains, rivers, and topography of the area, making them unique and very interesting compared to the uniform (ordinary to us) castles that were built after Nobunaga.

Mr. Shota really likes these "mountain castles" more than castles with castle towers, and he had a lively conversation with castle writer Mr. Hagiwara and castle archaeologist Mr. Chida while looking at the slides!

Nowadays, many mountain castles are covered with trees and look like ``just mountains.''

However, as we walked there, we discovered traces such as the artificial shape of the valley, large boulders that seemed to have meaning, and earthworks that seemed to have been used as battlefields and were repeatedly strengthened. It seems that the real pleasure of being a ``Yamashiro lover'' is to visualize it, and as you visit several places, you will eventually ``see'' it for what it really is. (It's a deep world)

Mr. Hagiwara says that just looking at the ground can make you feel like the besieger, thinking, ``Ashigaru might have camped here a long time ago♡.'' (It's a deep world)

moreover! It's said that if you go to the mountain castle with an attacking mindset, and return with a defensive mindset, you'll have twice as much fun! (It's a pretty deep world)

All three of them said they were very happy that with the recent castle boom, the charm of mountain castles was becoming more recognized.

Thanks to this, the mountain castle, which had been neglected until now, has now been maintained by local people, making it easier to walk around, and the shape of the moat and earthworks can now be clearly seen, which makes me very happy and grateful.