2023 Kitakyushu "100 Famous Cities" Tour (Briefing)

This is the third part of my "Japan's 100 Famous Castles" tour. This trip focuses on northern Kyushu, and I visited "No.89 Saga Castle", "No.88 Yoshinogari Ruins", "No.183 Kurume Castle Ruins", "No.184 Kiei Castle", and "No.85 Fukuoka Castle".

"No.89 Saga Castle", the ancient name of this castle is: Saga Castle. In the early Meiji era, the "Saga War" broke out, causing some buildings in the middle of the castle to be burned down. Only the Shashi Gate and the turrets have been preserved to this day. Saga Castle looks like it is sunken in the woods. In addition, it had multiple outer moats, which could flood the area outside the main part to stop the enemy when attacked. Therefore, it is also known as the "sunken castle."

"No.88 Yoshinogari Ruins" is a rather special castle ruins, which is very different from the other 100 castles. It is more like the remains of a Japanese tribe along the coast. It is the remains of a large-scale moated settlement in the Yayoi period of Japan. The ruins were discovered in 1986. The lookout buildings and double moats are considered to be the origin of Japanese castles that focus on defense.

"No.183 Kurume Castle Ruins" was built in the Muromachi period, but the castle buildings were demolished in the early Meiji period. The main castle is now built into the "Arima Memorial Hall" and "Shinone Shrine".

"No.184 Kii Castle", this castle was built in 665 and is one of the oldest mountain castles in Japan. It was built with Dazaifu as its center as a defense for northern Kyushu and was mainly used to store weapons and food. The castle's structure is built with earth and stone walls around the East Peak (about 405 meters above sea level) and the East Peak (327 meters above sea level), built on the inner ridge. The wall is about 4 kilometers long, with four gates along the way, including the presumed city gate. There are sluice gates on the south side that allow the river to flow through the stone wall that blocks the valley. Recent surveys have revealed that in addition to this gate, there are three drainage ditches in the same stone fort. In the Middle Ages it was also known as the "Wooden Mountain Castle".

「No.85 Fukuoka Castle」, this castle was built in 1601 and took 6 years to complete. Unfortunately, under the "Abolition of Castle Order" in the Meiji period, most of the hundreds of years old buildings were demolished, and now only some ruins such as city walls, gates and turrets remain. It is said that the original castle tower was demolished because the castle lord "Kuroda Nagamasa" was concerned about the long-term concerns of the Tokugawa shogunate. Currently, only the foundation stone of the castle tower remains in the city.

#Japan's 100 Famous Castles
#Japan's 100 Famous Castles
#Saga City
#Kurume City
#Hakata City

#travel

Post by Kaihenry | May 18, 2023