Kumamoto Castle

What to know

Kumamoto Castle (熊本城, Kumamotojō) is one of Japan's most impressive castles. With its vast grounds and numerous buildings, it offers visitors a comprehensive castle experience. However, the castle grounds suffered extensive damage in the April 2016 earthquakes, and restoration work will continue for many years.

Only a few of Kumamoto Castle's structures survived the post-feudal era intact. The keep and most other buildings are modern reconstructions, but they are largely of high quality. With about 800 cherry trees, the castle becomes a popular cherry blossom spot, typically in late March and early April.

Construction of Kumamoto Castle began in the early 1600s and took seven years. It was designed by Kato Kiyomasa, the local feudal lord (daimyo), renowned for his castle design skills. His fortifications were highly regarded for their strategic effectiveness. Less than 50 years after its completion, the castle and surrounding area were taken from the Kato clan and given to the Hosokawa clan, who ruled from Kumamoto Castle for the next two centuries.

A few years after the Meiji Restoration (1868), the castle played a pivotal role in the Seinan Civil War, during which the famous samurai Saigo Takamori led an uprising in Kyushu against the new government. Kumamoto Castle was the main garrison for government troops in Kyushu, and Saigo attacked the castle in early 1877. Despite being outnumbered, the government forces withstood Saigo's two-month siege, forcing the rebels to retreat.

Unfortunately, the original castle keep burned down in 1877 just before the siege. In 1960, a ferro-concrete reconstruction was built, recreating the building's outward appearance. Inside, however, there is a modern museum with displays on the castle's history and construction rather than a reconstruction of the original interior. The keep consists of two towers: a main tower with six stories and a smaller tower with four stories. Nice views of the castle grounds and surrounding city can be enjoyed from the top floor of the main tower.

To avoid interfering with repair work on the castle grounds, tourists currently approach the keep via an elevated walkway about 300 meters long, which offers interesting perspectives of the castle.