Kokura Castle
Kokura Castle (小倉城, Kokura-jō) in Kitakyushu, Japan was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki in 1602. It was the property of the Ogasawara clan (from Harima) between 1632 and 1860.
The castle burnt down from a fire in 1837, with parts of it rebuilt in 1839.[1] The castle burnt down again in 1866 during the war between the Kokura and Chōshū clans.[2]
Mori Ōgai was based at the castle at the turn of the 20th century, when it was a military base.
The keep was reconstructed in 1959, and the castle was fully restored in 1990. Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum and castle garden were opened in 1998. The old Japanese-style pre-Brunton lighthouse from Shirasu is in the castle grounds.
Location
The castle is about a ten-minute walk from JR Kyushu's Kokura Station. The North side of the moat is next to the Riverwalk shopping complex (completed in 2003).
Attractions
The keep contains a modern folkloric museum and admission is charged to the keep (350 yen), garden (300 yen) and Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum (600 yen). A joint ticket to the three attractions costs 700 yen.
The keep is not an accurate reconstruction. When it was reconstructed in 1959, the designers opted for a more aesthetically appealing design instead of faithfully rebuilding the simpler structure that once stood on the site.[1]
The Castle was listed as one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017.[3]
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The old Shirasu lighthouse
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The keep or donjon of Kokura Castle
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Closer look at east side of the castle
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Cherry blossoms (sakura) and the keep of Kokura Castle, March 2002
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Kokura castle
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Kokura Castle floors information
Literature
- Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 374. ISBN 9781108481946.
- Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4.
- ^ a b "Jcastle: Kokura Castle". Archived from the original on 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
- ^ "Pamphlet: History Surrounding Kokura Castle" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-09-16.
- ^ "続日本100名城" (in Japanese). 日本城郭協会. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
External links
- Kokura Castle - Kitakyushu film commission
- Kokura Castle (Japanese)
- Kokura Castle (English)
- Kokura Castle - Japan Kyushu Tourist