is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
located in
Minamishimabara
is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It occupies the southern tip of Shimabara Peninsula. , the city has an estimated population of 45,465 and a population density of 270 persons per km2. The total area is 169.89 km2.
The modern city o ...
,
Nagasaki Prefecture,
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 ...
. The castle was originally built in the 13th century. It belonged to the
Arima clan, and was the residence of the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
''
daimyō''. In 1637, during the
Shimabara Rebellion
The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638.
Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular polic ...
, it was burned down by the forces of the
Tokugawa Shogunate. The castle's ruins can still be seen.
Churches and Christian Sites in Nagasaki (Hinoe Castle)
"The 14th lord, Harunobu (1567–1612) was a Christian ''daimyō'' and refurbished his castle into a large scale which had gardens, a tea arbor and many rooms. There remain stone walls around the site of the front gate. A recent survey reveals that the construction materials including the stone steps were diverted from tombstones in Buddhist grave-yards which the lord had demolished. The fact indicates the religious situation in those days when Christianity was flourishing. In 1982, the location of the ruined castle was designated as a National Historic Site."
Sources
(see "Sites of Hara Castle and Hinoe Castle")
References
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Castles in Nagasaki Prefecture