Marugame – Japanese castle and crafts

Marugame is a port town in the western part of Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku, located west of the Seto Ohashi Bridge that connects Shikoku to Honshu. The second largest city in the prefecture, Marugame includes many Shiwaku islands, a historically important group of islands just off the city.

Marugame Castle

Marugame Castle is also known as Kameyama Castle. Located high on steep stone walls, the castle offers stunning views of the city below and overlooks one of the narrowest parts of the inland sea of Seto, a feature that allowed it to control the main waterways of the region. Marugame Castle is one of the twelve castles in Japan that survived the post-feudal era (since 1868) with their intact buildings.

The construction of Marugamejo began in 1957 on the order of Ikoma Chikamasa, the feudal lord who also built the Tamamo Castle in the nearby town of Takamatsu. However, due to a new shogun policy limiting the number of castles per province to one, Marugame Castle was demolished only 13 years after its completion. The castle was rebuilt in 1660 after the division of the province into two. Over the centuries, many of the castle’s buildings have been destroyed by fire, and today only the original dungeon and several of the castle’s gates remain.

Mimoca

Inokuma Genichiro (1902-1993) was one of Marugame’s leading abstract artists. Known for his paintings, Inokuma has also produced sculptures and large murals, some of which are attached to the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo and the Ueno station. He spent much of his life in Paris and New York painting among contemporaries such as Matisse and Picasso. He was also friends with the Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, whom he helped open a studio near Takamatsu.

The Mimoca, an abbreviation of Marugame Genichiro Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, was opened in 1991 right next to Marugame station. The museum’s permanent exhibition presents selected works from a collection of more than 20,000 sculptures, paintings and murals from Inokuma. Temporary exhibitions of Japanese and international artists are also held in the other rooms of the museum, while a museum shop and a café are also available to visitors.

Combined temporary and permanent exposure notes usually cost 950 yen. Access to the permanent collection costs 300 yen.

Honjima

Honjima is part of the Shiwaku Islands. Along the northeast coast of Honjima lies the town of Kasashima, a beautifully preserved port town that was a center of commerce and shipbuilding during the Edo period (1600-1867). About 20 wooden city houses have been preserved and are discovered at the detour of the stone alleys that snake through the city. Most are private residences, although three of them are open to the public and present household objects from the past.

A short hiking trail climbs the hill east of the city to the ruins of Kasashima Castle (also known as Higashiyamajo), a castle of the period of war states (XV and XVI centuries). Unfortunately, there is nothing left of the castle apart from a monument commemorating the site of the ancient dungeon, surrounded by the forest.

Shamijima

The island is easy to access thanks to the bridge between Shikoku and Honshu. Shamijima is a pleasant island to visit on foot, in a very authentic setting, thanks to its village of sinners, its beaches, its parks, temples and some museums.

Higashiyama Museum of Art Kaii Setouchi.

Built in 2005, this modern art centre features the work of Higashiyama Kaii, a landscape painter whose grandfather was born in the area. The exhibition of his paintings varies according to the seasons. Two special exhibitions are held each year in the spring and autumn.

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