thumb|right|Kokura Castle from the nearby [[Japanese garden]]

is a castle in Kitakyushu, Japan. It was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki starting in 1602, with construction completed in 1608.

History

Construction of Kokura Castle began in 1602 and was completed in 1608. 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.

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.

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 castle 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 a fully accurate reconstruction. In particular, when it was reconstructed in 1959, the designers chose to use gables that did not exist when the keep had originally been constructed.

Kokura Castle was listed as one of the Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles in 2017.

An old Japanese-style pre-Brunton lighthouse from Shirasu (白洲) is on the castle grounds.

<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: thumb|right|Castle tower -->

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<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">

Image:Kokura castle keep.jpg|The keep or donjon of Kokura Castle

Image:Kokura castle.JPG|Closer look at east side of the castle

Image:Kokura castle sakura.JPG|Cherry blossoms (sakura) and the keep of Kokura Castle, March 2002

Image:Kokura-jo.JPG|Kokura castle

Image:Kokura castle info.JPG|Kokura Castle floors information

Image:Old Shirasu lighthouse.JPG|The old Shirasu lighthouse

</gallery>

Literature

See also

  • Furuichi Ryōwa
  • Kokura Castle - Kitakyushu film commission
  • Kokura Castle (Japanese)
  • Kokura Castle (English)
  • Kokura Castle - Japan Kyushu Tourist