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Kokura Castle

Coordinates: 33°53′04″N 130°52′27″E / 33.884444°N 130.874256°E / 33.884444; 130.874256
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The keep
Kokura Castle from the nearby Japanese garden

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]


  • The old Shirasu lighthouse
    The old Shirasu lighthouse
  • The keep or donjon of Kokura Castle
    The keep or donjon of Kokura Castle
  • Closer look at east side of the castle
    Closer look at east side of the castle
  • Cherry blossoms (sakura) and the keep of Kokura Castle, March 2002
    Cherry blossoms (sakura) and the keep of Kokura Castle, March 2002
  • Kokura castle
    Kokura castle
  • Kokura Castle floors information
    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.
  1. ^ a b "Jcastle: Kokura Castle". Archived from the original on 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  2. ^ "Pamphlet: History Surrounding Kokura Castle" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  3. ^ "続日本100名城" (in Japanese). 日本城郭協会. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

33°53′04″N 130°52′27″E / 33.884444°N 130.874256°E / 33.884444; 130.874256

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