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Kumamoto Castle

 
Kumamoto Castle

 
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Kumamoto Castle
 
 
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Kumamoto Castle (???; -jo) is a castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
 in Kumamoto
Kumamoto, Kumamoto

is the capital cities of Japan of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Greater Kumamoto has a population of 1,460,000, as of the 2000 Census....
, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto, Kumamoto....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 that has been opened to the public for tours. A large, and in its day, an extremely well fortified Japanese castle. The donjon (castle central keep) is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. The castle was besieged during the Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion

The , was a revolt of Satsuma han ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29, 1877 to September 24,1877, 11 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government....
, and was sacked and burned after a 53-day siege.

In nearby San-no-Maru Park is the Hosokawa Gyobu-tei, the former residence of Hosokawa
Hosokawa

Hosokawa is a Japanese surname.People with the name include:*Bill Hosokawa , Japanese American author and journalist*Chieko Hosokawa , a Japanese manga artist...
 clan, the Higo daimyo.






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Kumamoto Castle (???; -jo) is a castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
 in Kumamoto
Kumamoto, Kumamoto

is the capital cities of Japan of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Greater Kumamoto has a population of 1,460,000, as of the 2000 Census....
, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto, Kumamoto....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 that has been opened to the public for tours. A large, and in its day, an extremely well fortified Japanese castle. The donjon (castle central keep) is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle. The castle was besieged during the Satsuma Rebellion
Satsuma Rebellion

The , was a revolt of Satsuma han ex-samurai against the Meiji government from January 29, 1877 to September 24,1877, 11 years into the Meiji Era. It was the last, and the most serious, of a series of armed uprisings against the new government....
, and was sacked and burned after a 53-day siege.

In nearby San-no-Maru Park is the Hosokawa Gyobu-tei, the former residence of Hosokawa
Hosokawa

Hosokawa is a Japanese surname.People with the name include:*Bill Hosokawa , Japanese American author and journalist*Chieko Hosokawa , a Japanese manga artist...
 clan, the Higo daimyo. This traditional wooden mansion has a fine Japanese garden
Japanese garden

, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhism temples and old Japanese castles....
 located in its grounds.

The signature curved stone walls known as musha-gaeshi, as well as wooden overhangs were designed to prevent foes from penetrating the castle. Rock falls were also used as deterrents.

Kumamoto Castle recently celebrated its 400th anniversary. On Dec 7, 2007 a large scale renovation of the Lord`s Inner Palace was completed. A public ceremony for the restoration was held April 20, 2008.

Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premiere castles in Japan, along with Himeji and Matsumoto.

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