五稜郭の歴史

福沢諭吉

安政4年（1857）着工、７年後の元治元年（1864）竣工の五稜郭（箱館御役所）築造に関わる最終計画図面と考えられます。図面に描かれる五稜郭全体の形状や規模等に関しては、現代の実測図面と重ね合わせても差異は少なく、精度が高いです。奉行所庁舎はもとより、附属建物の形状及び建物規模等が詳細に記述されており、そのほとんどが発掘調査の結果と符号しています。

越前康継

佐藤彦五郎は、甲州勝沼の戦いに、「春日隊」を結成して臨んだが、新政府軍に敗れる。このとき彦五郎の長男・源之助は一時捕縛され、刀をすべて没収されてしまう。これを気の毒がった歳三が1868年に源之助に送った刀が、葵紋の入った越前康継。歳三にとって源之助は、姉のぶの最初の男子で、よく面倒を見ていた。歳三はこの刀を、京都守護職でもあった松平容保から拝領したと伝わる。背負太刀作りの康継は長さ二尺三寸五分。表銘には「以南蛮鉄於武州江戸越前康継」、裏銘には「安政六年六月十一日於伝馬町雁金土壇払山田在吉試之」「同年十一月廿三日於千住府ト太々土壇払山田吉豊試之」とある。山田在吉、吉豊は、吉田松陰や頼三樹三郎らを処刑したことで知られる七代目山田浅右衛門吉利の子どもである。

From its million-dollar night views to its gorgeously kept 19th-century Western-style buildings, the port city of Hakodate has a lot to offer. There is one spot that visitors will not want to miss: a curious star-shaped structure carpeted with cherry trees that bloom magnificently in spring. The fort was drafted by Takeda Ayasaburo, who probably referred to French texts in its construction. The five points (bastions) were designed to house cannon emplacements and prevent blind spots in the fort's defenses. Many similar fortifications, such as the Dutch Bourtange Fortress, remain in Europe today. During the Edo period (1603 - 1867), the reigning Tokugawa shogunate closed Japan’s ports to most of the outside world, withdrawing into more than 200 years of self-imposed isolation. This policy, called sakoku, came to an abrupt end in 1853 when American Admiral Matthew Perry arrived with a fleet of armed “black ships” into the bay off of Japan’s capital. A year later, with the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa, Japan opened two ports to the rest of the world - Hakodate and Shimoda. As Japan entered into similar treaties with different nations, Hakodate saw more foreign ships come and go. Pressed to defend Japan’s ports against threats from abroad, the Tokugawa shogunate commissioned Fort Goryokaku. It took seven years to complete. Visitors can now also explore the fully restored Hakodate Magistrate's Office, a building once used to govern the area that stands within the fort premises. The full splendor of this fort can be viewed from the observation deck of the nearby 107-meter Goryokaku Tower.