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Kagawa · City

Marugame

丸亀市まるがめしMarugame-shi

A keep on towering walls and the fan-makers' port

Marugame is a port city in western Kagawa on the Seto Inland Sea, known for Marugame Castle, whose small original keep stands on the highest stone walls of any Japanese castle. It produces most of Japan's round uchiwa fans and was the landing port for pilgrims to Kotohira.

Overview

Marugame grew as a castle town and port on the western Sanuki coast. Its castle rises on Kameyama hill in four tiers of curved stone walls, together about 60 metres high, the tallest castle walls in Japan. At the top stands one of the twelve original castle keeps, the smallest of them, completed in 1660 for the Kyōgoku lords.

In the Edo period Marugame was the main landing place for pilgrims travelling by boat from Osaka to the shrine of Konpira, and the town began making uchiwa fans decorated with the shrine's emblem as souvenirs. Fan-making became the town's signature industry, and Marugame still accounts for the great majority of Japan's uchiwa.

The modern city has a strong cultural presence in the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art beside the station, and a lively food culture centred on honetsuki-dori, roasted chicken legs. Offshore, the Shiwaku Islands preserve the villages of the Shiwaku sailors, a self-governing community of skilled seamen and shipwrights.

Landmarks

  • Marugame Castle

    丸亀城Marugame-jō

    Original keep of 1660 above stone walls rising in tiers to about 60 metres; the keep and Ōte gates are Important Cultural Properties.

  • MIMOCA

    丸亀市猪熊弦一郎現代美術館Marugame-shi Inokuma Gen'ichirō Gendai Bijutsukan

    A museum of contemporary art founded around the works of the painter Inokuma Gen'ichirō, designed by Taniguchi Yoshio.

  • Uchiwa no Minato Museum

    うちわの港ミュージアムUchiwa no Minato Myūjiamu

    Exhibits and demonstrations of Marugame uchiwa-making at the port.

  • Nakazu Banshōen

    中津万象園Nakazu Banshōen

    A stroll garden of the Kyōgoku lords laid out in 1688 near the mouth of the Doki River.

  • Tasuke Lantern

    太助灯籠Tasuke dōrō

    A large bronze lantern at the old port, donated by Konpira pilgrims from Edo to guide ships.

  • Kasashima, Honjima

    笠島Kasashima

    The village of the Shiwaku sailors on Honjima, an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.

Districts

  • Castle and station area

    丸亀城周辺Marugame-jō shūhen

    The castle park, MIMOCA and the central streets.

  • Port area

    丸亀港Marugame-kō

    The old landing place of Konpira pilgrims and the ferry port for the Shiwaku Islands.

  • Shiwaku Islands

    塩飽諸島Shiwaku-shotō

    Honjima, Hiroshima and other islands of the Shiwaku sailors.

  • Iiyama

    飯山Hanzan

    Southern district at the foot of Iinoyama, Sanuki Fuji.

History

Ikoma Chikamasa built the first castle on Kameyama in 1597. It was abandoned under the one-castle-per-province rule of 1615 but rebuilt from 1641 by Yamazaki Ieharu, and from 1658 the Kyōgoku family ruled the Marugame domain until 1871, completing the keep in 1660. The Shiwaku Islands, meanwhile, were governed by their own sailors, who held the islands collectively in return for naval transport service to the Toyotomi and Tokugawa.

Marugame became a city in 1899 and merged with the towns of Ayauta and Hanzan in 2005. In 2018 heavy rain caused part of the castle's south-west stone walls to collapse, and a long restoration followed.

  1. 1597

    Ikoma Chikamasa builds a castle on Kameyama.

  2. 1615

    The castle is abandoned under the one-castle-per-province edict.

  3. 1641

    Yamazaki Ieharu begins rebuilding Marugame Castle.

  4. 1658

    The Kyōgoku family takes over the Marugame domain.

  5. 1660

    The present castle keep is completed.

  6. 1899

    Marugame is incorporated as a city.

  7. 1991

    The Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art opens.

  8. 2005

    Marugame merges with Ayauta and Hanzan.

  9. 2018

    Heavy rain causes part of the castle's stone walls to collapse.

Culture

Marugame's identity rests on its castle and its fans: uchiwa craftsmen still split bamboo and paste paper by hand, and the city's museums keep the tradition visible. The Shiwaku Islands, with their shipwright heritage and old villages, were a venue of the Setouchi Triennale, and MIMOCA gives the city a place in Japan's contemporary art scene.

Festivals

  • Marugame Castle Festival

    丸亀お城まつりMarugame Oshiro Matsuri

    A spring festival in the castle grounds with stage performances and stalls.

  • Marugame Basara Festival

    丸亀婆娑羅まつりMarugame Basara Matsuri

    A summer festival with dance and fireworks.

  • Castle cherry blossoms

    丸亀城の桜Marugame-jō no sakura

    Cherry trees on the stone-walled terraces in spring.

Food

  • Honetsuki-dori

    骨付鳥Honetsuki-dori

    Whole chicken leg roasted with garlic and pepper, first served in Marugame in the 1950s; ordered as tender young hen or chewy mature hen.

  • Sanuki udon

    讃岐うどんSanuki udon

    Served at many local shops across the Sanuki plain.

  • Shiwaku seafood

    塩飽の海の幸Shiwaku no umi no sachi

    Octopus, sea bream and small fish from the island waters.

Getting around

  • JR Marugame Station on the Yosan Line is about 25 minutes from Takamatsu; limited expresses from Okayama also stop here.
  • The castle is about 10 minutes' walk from the station; the port is a short walk north.
  • Ferries from Marugame Port serve Honjima and Hiroshima in the Shiwaku Islands.
  • Kotohira is about 30 minutes by train on the Dosan Line from neighbouring Tadotsu.

Day trips

  • Kotohira

    琴平Kotohira

    Kotohira-gū and the Kanamaru-za theatre, about 30 minutes inland.

  • Zentsū-ji

    善通寺Zentsū-ji

    Henro Temple 75 and Kūkai's birthplace, on the Dosan Line between Tadotsu and Kotohira.

  • Takamatsu

    高松Takamatsu

    Ritsurin Garden and the ferry port, about 25 minutes east.

  • Chichibugahama

    父母ヶ浜Chichibugahama

    The mirror-like tidal beach of Mitoyo, to the west.

Other cities in the prefecture

CapitalTakamatsuTakamatsu-shiGarden city and gateway to the art islandsTownKotohiraKotohira-chōThe seafarers' shrine at the top of the stepsTownNaoshimaNaoshima-chōContemporary art on an Inland Sea island

Frequently asked questions

Is Marugame Castle an original castle?

Yes. Its keep, completed in 1660, is one of the twelve surviving original keeps and the smallest of them; the stone walls are the highest of any castle in Japan.

Why does Marugame make so many uchiwa fans?

Fans bearing the Konpira emblem were sold to pilgrims landing at Marugame in the Edo period, and the craft grew into the town's leading industry.

Where can you eat honetsuki-dori?

At many izakaya and specialist restaurants around Marugame and in Kagawa; choose oya (mature hen) for flavour or hina (young chicken) for tenderness.

Can you visit the Shiwaku Islands from Marugame?

Yes. Ferries from Marugame Port reach Honjima in about 30 minutes; the Kasashima village and the Shiwaku Kinban-sho are the main sights.

Related

Sources

  1. 1.丸亀市ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 丸亀市
  2. 2.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
  3. 3.国指定文化財等データベース (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁
  4. 4.香川県ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 香川県

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