[Event Report] "Castle and Sword Dance" was held

On August 4, 2024, a collaborative event called "Castles and Sword Dance" was held between "Japan Travel Samurai" and "BOOK CAFE + BAR COTO COTO" in Suginami Ward, Tokyo! This is the first time that "Japan Travel Samurai" has held such an event. This time, we will report on the event.

"Castle and Sword Dance"
[Date] August 4th (Sunday)
[Part 1] Lecture and sword dance 13:00~
[Part 2] Social gathering 15:00~
[Speaker] Yasutsune Owada (Director of the Japan Castle Foundation, Lecturer at Shizuoka Eiwa University, Lecturer at Waseda University Extension Center)
[Sword Dance] Shiori Kaburagi (Representative Director of NPO "Chitose: Exchange of Harmony and People", performer)

Event starts at BOOK CAFE + BAR "COTO COTO"!

The event was held in collaboration with BOOK CAFE＋BAR COTO COTO, located about a three-minute walk from JR and Tokyo Metro Ogikubo Station. This is a hideaway-like book cafe on the second floor of a building that was opened by freelance announcer Hashiya Noriko and a university classmate.

There are about 1,300 books lined up in the store. We held the "Castle and Sword Dance" event in a book cafe surrounded by such books. Thankfully, it was fully booked, with people coming from far away! There was even a person who rushed over in a wheelchair.

In the first part, Yasutsune Owada talked about the highlights of the castle.

In the first part, Yasutsune Owada, a director of the Japan Castle Foundation, lecturer at Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University and Waseda University Extension Center, gave a lecture on the highlights of the castle.

Mr. Owada's father is Tetsuo Owada, a professor emeritus at Shizuoka University. He became interested in castles as he visited various castles with his father, a famous historian, from a young age. He also shared an episode that is typical of a family of historians, saying that when they traveled to Okinawa, they went on a tour of gusuku (castles) rather than sightseeing.

Yasutsune Owada has also written "Japanese Castles from the Samurai's Perspective," which interprets and explains the "Kenroku" by Ogyu Sorai, a Confucian scholar from the Edo period, but the theme of this article is exactly "how to enjoy castles from the perspective of the samurai of that time." He gave us a detailed explanation of the types of castles, their enclosures, moats, stone walls, bridges, castle towers, turrets, and more!

Tips for building castles and ways to protect them

What was interesting was the fundamental discussion on how to build a castle. According to Owada, "the primary purpose of a castle is to defend it from the enemy, and it is advantageous to be the one defending it. It is common knowledge that you cannot take a castle unless you have three times the military strength." The difference between a mansion and a castle is that a mansion has one bailey, while a castle has several. However, if there are too many baileys, a lot of soldiers are needed to defend them, so while a large castle is difficult to attack, it also has the disadvantage of being difficult to defend. "The right size is important," he said.

There are various types of baileys, including linked baileys (in a single row), contour baileys (surrounding the main enclosure in the center), terraced baileys (stepped), and combinations of these, and we were given easy-to-understand diagrams to help us understand.

Furthermore, one of the key points about the kuruwa is that "an impregnable defense is not ideal." This is because it is assumed that the castle will be retaken if it is taken by the enemy. Also, if it is too fortified, it will be impossible to bring in supplies during a siege, and furthermore, it will be impossible to escape from the inside in the final phase, so the kuruwa has an entrance or exit called a "Koguchi (tiger's mouth)."

However, it is also important to make it difficult for enemies to attack, so while at the beginning of the Sengoku period there was a "flat gate" that allowed you to go straight into the castle, this gradually changed to a "kuchigai gate" that curved so that you could only enter by turning, and then this evolved further into the "masugata gate" which had two gates and a square space (masugata) at the gate. Passing through the first gate there was a square space where enemies would gather and be attacked, so "the masugata gate was the perfect form of a Japanese castle" (Owada).

He also introduced us to the methods of stacking stone walls and earthworks, which are familiar to our website. Owada described the "smartest" as the "headband-wrapped stone wall," which has stone walls on top and bottom and earthworks in the middle. It is the strongest wall, as it will not collapse even if hit by a cannon, the stone wall on top makes it more durable and easier to build on, and even if it comes into contact with a moat, the stones will prevent the earthwork from washing away! However, it has the disadvantage that it does not have the same intimidating feel as a stone wall... There are almost none left, but it can apparently be seen nearby around the Sakurada moat of Edo Castle.

The explanation of the castle towers includes a detailed explanation of the different types, such as "watchtower type", "multi-tiered tower type", "independent type", "compound type", "linked type", etc. Although castle towers could be lived in during wartime, they were not normally inhabited, and feudal lords and others would only climb them once when they returned from alternate attendance, and they were usually used as storehouses.

He also explained the techniques used to attack enemies, such as the castle towers, turrets, and gaps and stone-dropping techniques, which gave me a renewed sense of how amazing castles are.

In the final Q&A session, Owada introduced his favorite castle. Gassan-Toda Castle (Toda, Hirose-cho, Yasugi-shi, Shimane Prefecture) is "not that famous, but it is the main castle of the Amago clan. It is well-maintained and the baileys remain." Incidentally, Gassan-Toda Castle is also known as the castle associated with Yamanaka Yukimori (Kasuke), also known as the "Kirin of Sanin."

He also likes Takeda Castle (Takeda, Wadayama-cho, Asago-shi, Hyogo Prefecture), known as the "Castle in the Sky." However, he said that there are too many tourists and it is becoming difficult to walk around freely. "I want more people to come and see the castle, but it's also prone to overtourism and the destruction of the remains. It is said that there are 30,000 to 40,000 castles, but I would like people to spread out and visit them, rather than concentrating on one."

I was fascinated by Shiori Kaburagi's beautiful and powerful performance.

After Mr. Owada's lecture, Ms. Shiori Kaburagi performed sword dancing and original dance. Ms. Kaburagi is a performer of sword dancing, original dance, and sword fighting, and has performed overseas, including at JAPANIMANGA Night 2018 (Switzerland) and JAPAN EXPO Paris 2019 (France). She is also active as a model, and won the runner-up prize at the 2nd Miss Edo NADESHIKO contest.

This site "Japanese WalkHe is also well known for his work on "Wa to Hito no Koryu Chitose," and serves as the representative director of the Setagaya-ku NPO "Wa to Hito no Koryu Chitose." He teaches local children how to enjoy Japanese culture through sword fighting.

Kaburagi, who perfectly fits the description of "dignified beauty," performed beautiful sword and dance moves. Programs such as "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" and "Makoto," which is themed on the Shinsengumi, were also prepared, which were appropriate for a book cafe. The entire audience was riveted by Kaburagi, who swung his sword in front of the children while also not forgetting to smile at them! While enchanted by the graceful "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," we were left breathless by the powerful sword dance in "Makoto," which reminded us of the fierce but proud samurai of the end of the Edo period.

Because it was a compact cafe, the space for the sword dance was small, but Kaburagi-san danced without any problems. He said that he only needed one tatami mat! In an interview after the performance, he revealed a secret story that although he usually practices in gymnasiums or parks, he sometimes practices secretly in a small space of about one tatami mat in a room, which surprised the audience.

In addition, "Wa to Hito no Koryu Chitose" will hold "Wa Festival ~Ouka~" on November 4th at Tamagawa Seseragi Hall (Todoroki, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo). It is an event that can be enjoyed by both adults and children, and a performance by the Children's Sword Fighting Club is also planned. It is a wonderful opportunity for parents and children to experience history, so if you are interested, please come and participate.

(Text by Naoko Kurimoto)