苗木城跡： 赤壁城伝説
江戸時代の天守閣の多くは、美観と防火のために白漆喰を塗っていた。しかし、苗木城は剥き出しの土壁の色から「赤壁城」と呼ばれた。現在、残存する壁はなく、当時の実際の姿を見ることはできない。
この名前には伝説がある。赤壁城の赤土の壁には、もともと白い漆喰が塗られていた。ある夜、激しい嵐が吹き荒れ、一晩中荒れ狂った。翌朝、城の住人が目を覚ますと、壁の白い漆喰が剥がれ落ち、その下に赤土が見えていた。その後、壁はさらに厚く塗り直され、再び白壁の城となった。しかし、黒雲が戻り、雷が鳴り響き、雨が城に打ちつけた。城のふもとの木曽川から龍が現れ、城に巻きつき、白い漆喰を爪で削り取った。龍が去った後、赤土の城壁はそのまま残すことになった。
実際には、遠山家の財政が逼迫して漆喰を塗る余裕がなかったことを隠すために、このような話が作られたのかもしれない。
Naegi Castle Site: The Legend of the Red-Walled Castle
Many castle keeps during the Edo period (1603–1867) had walls coated with white plaster for aesthetic reasons and to serve as a fire retardant. Naegi Castle, however, was known as the “red-walled castle” (Akakabejo) from the color of the exposed clay used to cover its walls. None of those walls have been preserved today to recall its former image.
The name comes with a legend. As the story goes, the red clay walls of the castle were originally coated with white plaster. One night, a violent storm blew in and raged all night long. The next morning, the occupants of the castle woke to find the white plaster of the walls had been stripped away, revealing the red clay beneath. After that, the walls were plastered over again, even more thickly, making it a white-walled castle once more. However, black clouds returned, and rain beat the castle while thunder crashed. A dragon emerged from the Kiso River at the foot of the castle and wrapped itself around the fortress, scraping off the white plaster with its talons. After the dragon withdrew, it was decided that the red clay walls would be left as they were.
In reality, this story may have been made up to hide the fact that the Toyama family could not afford to plaster the walls due to tight finances.
