is a replica

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 ...

Iwakuni is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History Iwakuni was formerly the castle town of the Iwakuni han, which was formed by Lord Hiroie Kikkawa after he was banished there for supporting the defeated shōgun. The Kikkawa clan ruled ...

, Yamaguchi,

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 nearby

Kintai Bridge The is a historical wooden arch bridge, in the city of Iwakuni, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The pedestrian bridge was built in 1673, spanning the Nishiki River in a series of five wooden arches. The bridge is located on the foot of Mt.Yo ...

was originally a footbridge over the

Nishiki River The is a 110 km long river, the longest in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The Nishiki is the main river in a larger system measuring 331.8 km in total. The government of Japan classifies it as a second-class river system. The Nishiki Riv ...

to the main gate of the castle.

History

This castle was originally constructed by

Kikkawa Hiroie (December 7, 1561 – October 22, 1626) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama period through early Edo period. Hiroie's father was Kikkawa Motoharu and his mother was a daughter of Kumagai Nobunao. Biography He initially w ...

from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle. Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shōgun under the

Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...

. However, this castle was dismantled as per the Ikkoku-ichijo (一国一城, literally, "One Castle Per Province") order established by the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

in 1615. After the destruction of the castle, Kikkawa used a part of the old castle as his residential office. The Kikkawa clan held this castle and Iwakuni Han, which was assessed at 30,000 (later 60,000)

koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...

. A replica of the castle tower built in 1962 now stands high on a hill above the Nishiki River and the Kintai Bridge. The castle was selected to be one of the 100 Great Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.

References

External links

Iwakuni City Tourism

Iwakuni Kankou.com
{{100 Fine Castles of Japan Castles in Yamaguchi Prefecture 100 Fine Castles of Japan Mōri clan Iwakuni, Yamaguchi

History

Further reading

References

External links