is a hilltop
Japanese castle
are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such ...
located in
Chūō-ku,
Kumamoto
is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a population of 1,461,000, ...
, in
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a 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, M ...
.
It was a large and well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960,
[ but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier castles in Japan, along with ]Himeji Castle
is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network o ...
and Matsumoto Castle
, originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji and Kumamoto. The building is also known as the due to its black exterior. It was the seat of Matsumoto Domain under the Edo Period Tokugawa ...
. Thirteen structures in the castle complex are designated Important Cultural Property.
History
Kumamoto Castle's history dates to 1467, when fortifications were established by Ideta Hidenobu.[ In 1496, these fortifications were expanded by Kanokogi Chikakazu.][ In 1588, ]Katō Kiyomasa
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Azuchi–Momoyama and Edo periods. His court title was Higo-no-kami. His name as a child was ''Yashamaru'', and first name was ''Toranosuke''. He was one of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake.
Biography ...
was transferred to the early incarnation of Kumamoto Castle.[ From 1601 to 1607, Kiyomasa greatly expanded the castle, transforming it into a castle complex with 49 ]turrets
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* M ...
, 18 turret gates, and 29 smaller gates.[ The smaller castle tower, built sometime after the keep, had several facilities including a well and kitchen.][ In 1610, the Honmaru Goten Palace was completed.][ The castle complex measures roughly from east to west, and measures from north to south. The castle ]keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
is tall.
The castle was besieged in 1877 during the Satsuma Rebellion
The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and b ...
, and the castle keep
''Castle Keep'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama war film combining surrealism with tragic realism. It was directed by Sydney Pollack and starred Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Bruce Dern, and Peter Falk. The film appear ...
and other parts were burned down.[ 13 of the buildings in the castle complex were undamaged, and have been designated Important Cultural Properties. In 1960, the castle keep was reconstructed using concrete.][ From 1998 to 2008, the castle complex underwent restoration work, during which most of the 17th century structures were rebuilt.][
The signature curved stone walls, known as ''musha-gaeshi'', as well as wooden overhangs, were designed to prevent attackers from penetrating the castle. Rock falls were also used as deterrents.
In nearby San-no-Maru Park is the Hosokawa Gyobu-tei, the former residence of the ]Hosokawa clan
The is a Japanese Samurai kin group or clan.
Ancestors
# Emperor Jimmu
# Emperor Suizei
# Emperor Annei
# Emperor Itoku
# Emperor Kōshō
# Emperor Kōan
# Emperor Kōrei
# Emperor Kōgen
# Emperor Kaika
# Emperor Sujin
# Emperor Sui ...
, the ''daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...
'' of Higo Province during the Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
. This traditional wooden mansion has a noted Japanese garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden des ...
located in its grounds.
In 2006, Kumamoto Castle was listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan
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
...
by the Japan Castle Foundation. On December 7, 2007, a large-scale renovation of the Inner Palace was completed. A public ceremony for the restoration was held on April 20, 2008.
The castle sustained damage in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
that struck at 9:26 pm on 14 April 2016, in Mashiki town in Kumamoto prefecture. This event is substantially similar to the 1889 Kumamoto earthquake which also damaged the castle. A stone wall at the foot of the keep partially collapsed, and several of the castle's ''shachihoko
A – or simply – is a sea monster in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp covered entirely in black or grey scales.Joya. ''Japan and Things Japanese.'' Taylor and Francis, 2017;2016;, doi:10.4324/9780203041130. ...
'' ornaments fell from the roof of the keep and broke apart. It sustained further extensive damage the next day on 15 April following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake where some portions were completely destroyed. While the keep itself withstood most of the earthquake with little structural damage, two of the castle's turrets were severely damaged and partially collapsed, more of the exterior walls at the foot of the keep also collapsed, and large amounts of ''kawara'' roof tiles on the keep's roof were also disrupted and fell from the roof as a result of the quake. The fallen roof tiles are actually deliberately designed to have done so – when the castle was constructed, such roof tiles were used so that in the event of an earthquake, the tiles would fall off the damaged roof, preventing it from being weighted down and collapsing into the building's interior.
As of June 8, 2016, the efforts to repair the castle have begun. The restoration of the main tower will be completed by 2019. The restoration of the Nagabei Wall was completed in January, 2021. The repair and restoration of the entire castle is scheduled for completion by the year 2036. On April 7, 2018, the newly made ''shachihoko
A – or simply – is a sea monster in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp covered entirely in black or grey scales.Joya. ''Japan and Things Japanese.'' Taylor and Francis, 2017;2016;, doi:10.4324/9780203041130. ...
'' ornament had been installed on the top roof of the large tenshu
is an architectural typology found in Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle. Common translations of ''tenshu'' include keep, main keep, or ''donjon''.
''Tenshu'' are characterized as ty ...
tower with the second one being installed on April 12.
Gallery
Old photographs
Image:Kumamoto Castle oldphoto 1871-1874.jpg, Castle in 1871–1874.
Image:Kumamoto Castle oldphoto 1874.jpg, Castle in 1874.
Image:Castle of daimyo in Kumamoto. Before 1902.jpg, Castle before 1902.
Image:KumamotoCastle_EdoPeriod_02.JPG, Model of the castle and city in the Edo period.
Present exterior
Image:Kumamoto Castle 02n3200.jpg, The steep stone walls.
Image:Kumamoto Castle 06s5s4272.jpg
Image:Kumamoto Castle 07n3200.jpg
Image:Uto-Yagura frm Sho tenshu.jpg, Uto yagura
Image:Kumamoto jo honmaru frm tenshu.jpg, Honmaru Palace of Kumamoto Castle as seen from the Tenshu.
Image:Kumamoto Castle Cultural Performance.JPG, Regular cultural performances in front of the main castle.
Image:Kumamoto_City_Tram_Oct_7_2012.JPG, Castle and City Tram
See also
*Japanese castle
are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such ...
*
*History of Kumamoto Prefecture
The history of Kumamoto Prefecture has been documented from paleolithic times to the present. Kumamoto Prefecture is the eastern half of Hinokuni (meaning "land of fire"), and corresponds to what was once called Higo Province. Exceptions are the ...
* 1889 Kumamoto earthquake
References
Bibliography
Benesch, Oleg. "Castles and the Militarisation of Urban Society in Imperial Japan," ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Vol. 28 (Dec. 2018), pp. 107-134.
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External links
Kumamoto Castle official homepage (in Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese)
*
{{Authority control
Castles in Kumamoto Prefecture
Buildings and structures in Kumamoto
Special Historic Sites
100 Fine Castles of Japan