Friday, April 07, 2006
Mist Castle
Maruoka Castle, the oldest castle still standing in Japan 
While in the Fukui prefecture, we took the time to visit this nice little wonder. Located on a high hill above Maruoka Town, this castle is also known as Kasumi ga Jo ("Mist Castle") because a legend tells that whenever an enemy approached the castle, a thick mist would appear and hide it to protect it in time of battle.
The Maruoka Castle was completed in 1576, and is the oldest one remaining of all the castles in Japan. I think it is a National Cultural Asset.
As usual, the whole structure is meant for defense more than for comfort. Its access is quite steep. The inside rooms are actually pretty simple and small, and everything was made to make it difficult to reach the upper stories that were used as the living quarters for the lord of the castle.
A rope has been prepared to help visitors move up and down between the floors. I wonder how they were doing without it, while fighting each other with sword.
The park surrounding the castle has been selected as one of the top 100 most beautiful places for viewing cherry blossoms in Japan, but unfortunately we visited it way too early and won’t be able to come back.
