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Hitoyoshi Castle
Hitoyoshi is a 12th-century castle, now ruins, located in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is recognized as one of Japan's top 100 castles. History There was an original castle built on the site by Sagara Nagayori, in the late 1200s. After this, the clan used the castle as their home, up until the early 1400s. Sometime before 1470, another castle was built on the location. The Sagara clan pushed out to extend their power around the Kuma area, however they were defeated by the Shimazu clan at the Battle of Minamata in the year 1581. As a result, they lost much area under their control. Sagara Nagatsune carried out more extensive development of the castle in the year 1589. The Kumagawa River is used by the castle as both an outer defensive moat, and for trade via water transport. The castle was demolished, like many castles in Japan, in the Meiji era. Current site Little of the castle remains today on site. The stone walls remain extant, with both a recently added yagura ...
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Hitoyoshi Castle Air
is a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on February 11, 1942. the city has an estimated population of 30,752 and a population density of 144 per km2. The total area is 210.55 km2. It is famous for boat trips on the river and hot springs. Aoi Aso Shrine, one of the National Treasures of Japan, is located in Hitoyoshi. It is bounded to the north, east, and west by towns of Kuma District, and to the south by Kagoshima Prefecture. Commerce Hitoyoshi's main product is rice shochu (an indigenous spirit distilled from rice), or kuma-shochu, which is the official name of rice shochu produced in Kumamoto's Hitoyoshi and Kuma District. This shochu must be produced in these areas from Japanese rice and with water from the Kuma River, which runs through the town. The World Trade Organization granted kuma-shochu geographical indication status in 1994. The most popular brand is Hakutake Shiro, which currently holds 50% market share on all rice shochu sol ...
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Hitoyoshi
is a city in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on February 11, 1942. the city has an estimated population of 30,752 and a population density of 144 per km2. The total area is 210.55 km2. It is famous for boat trips on the river and hot springs. Aoi Aso Shrine, one of the National Treasures of Japan, is located in Hitoyoshi. It is bounded to the north, east, and west by towns of Kuma District, and to the south by Kagoshima Prefecture. Commerce Hitoyoshi's main product is rice shochu (an indigenous spirit distilled from rice), or kuma-shochu, which is the official name of rice shochu produced in Kumamoto's Hitoyoshi and Kuma District. This shochu must be produced in these areas from Japanese rice and with water from the Kuma River, which runs through the town. The World Trade Organization granted kuma-shochu geographical indication status in 1994. The most popular brand is Hakutake Shiro, which currently holds 50% market share on all rice shochu sold in ...
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Kumamoto Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, Miyazaki Prefecture to the southeast, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south. Kumamoto is the capital and largest city of Kumamoto Prefecture, with other major cities including Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Yatsushiro, Amakusa, Kumamoto, Amakusa, and Tamana, Kumamoto, Tamana. Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū on the coast of the Ariake Sea, across from Nagasaki Prefecture, with the mainland separated from the East China Sea by the Amakusa Archipelago. Kumamoto Prefecture is home to Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan and among the largest in the world, with its peak above sea level. History Historically, the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji ...
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Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ...
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Japan's Top 100 Castles
The castles in were chosen based on their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2006. In 2017, Japanese Castle Association created an additional finest 100 castles list as Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles. Hokkaidō Tōhoku region Kantō and Kōshin'etsu region Hokuriku region Tōkai region Kansai region Chūgoku region Shikoku region Kyūshū region Okinawa region See also *List of castles in Japan *List of National Treasures of Japan (castles) *Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles The is a list of 100 Japanese castle, castles, intended as a sequel of 100 Fine Castles of Japan. The castles were chosen for their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2017. Hokkaidō region Tōhoku region Kant ... Notes External links Japan Castle Association {{100 Fine Castles of Japan * Lists of castles in Japan ...
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Sagara Clan
The Sagara clan (相良氏, ''Sagara-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan of daimyos. They were a tactical ally of the Shimazu clan. In the Edo period, they became the daimyo of the Hitoyoshi Domain and ruled until the Meiji Restoration. After the restoration, they were appointed Viscount. Origins The Sagara clan was founded by Sagara Korekane, descending from the Fujiwara clan. It is believed that the clan took its name from the manor (''shōen'') they held in Sagara, Haibara District, Tōtōmi Province during the Kamakura period. History The Sagara clan was, in the Edo period, a ''tozama daimyō'' clan which ruled the Hitoyoshi Domain in Higo Province. The domain boasted land worth of 22,000 koku. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Hosokawa" at ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 50 retrieved 2013-5-28. In 1198, the year before his death, Minamoto no Yoritomo granted the territory of Hitoyoshi (on K ...
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Shimazu Clan
The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contrast with the '' fudai'' or insider clans which were hereditary vassals or allies of the Tokugawa clan. History The Shimazu were descendants of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto. The Shimazu would become one of the families of Edo period ''daimyō'' to have held their territory continuously since the Kamakura period, and would also become, at their peak, the wealthiest and most powerful Tozama daimyō family with an income in excess of 700,000 ''koku''. The founder, Shimazu Tadahisa (d. 1227), was a son of ''Shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199) with the sister of Hiki Yoshikazu. Tadahisa's wife was a daughter of Koremune Hironobu, descendant of the Hata clan, whose name Tadahisa took at first. He received the domain of Shioda i ...
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Kumagawa River
The is a river in Kumamoto Prefecture, central Western part of Kyūshū, Japan. It is sometimes referred as Kumagawa River. It is the longest river in Kyushu, with the length of 115 km long and has a drainage area of . The tidal flat of the Kuma River estuary is approximately 1000 hectares. It is considered to be one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan (the other two being the Mogami River and the Fuji River). The Kuma River is classified as class A river, under the management of the Japanese government.Ranlund, C. (2017). Impacts of the Sea Dike and Reclamation Project in Isahaya Bay on Baroclinic Structure in the Ariake Sea, Japan. The Kuma River is a popular tourist spot. About 70,000 tourists take a ride on the river every year. Tourists are attracted to Ayu fish or sweetfish which inhabits at the Kuma river and some of its tributaries, where many people especially enjoy “shaku-ayu”. The river is also used for fishing, mainly in June, and for irrigation ...
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Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In older fortifications, such as hillforts, they are usually referred to simply as ditches, although the function is similar. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental. They could also act as a sewer. Historical use Ancient Some of the earliest evidence of moats has been uncovered around ancient Egyptian castles. One example is at Buhen, a castle excavated in Nubia. Other evidence of ancient moats is found in the ruins of Babylon, and in reliefs from ancient Egypt, Assyria, and other cultures in the region. Evidence of early moats around settlements has been discovered in many archaeological sites throughout Southeast Asia, including ...
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Meiji Era
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by Western powers to the new paradigm of a modern, industrialized nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a result of such wholesale adoption of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji. It was preceded by the Keiō era and was succeeded by the Taishō era, upon the accession of Emperor Taishō. The rapid modernization during the Meiji era was not without its opponents, as the rapid changes to society caused many disaffected traditionalists from the former samurai cl ...
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Yagura (tower)
is the Japanese word for "tower", "turret", "keep", or "scaffold". The word is most often seen in reference to structures in Japanese castle compounds but can be used in other situations as well. The bandstand tower erected for Bon Festival is often called a ''yagura'', as are similar structures used in other festivals. ''Yagura-daiko'' (''taiko'' drumming from atop a ''yagura'') is a traditional part of professional sumo competitions.Official Grand Sumo homepage


Etymology

There were signs that the first written form of kanji was (櫓) during ancient periods, simply being a character representing a tower before being changed to (矢倉) – in which the former replaced the latter once again. The term originally derives from the use of fortress towers as high/tall or arrow (矢, ...
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