All Topics  
Shimabara Castle

 
Shimabara Castle

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Shimabara Castle
 
 
  Topics Shimabara Castle Topic Home

, also known as and , is a Japanese castle
Japanese castle

were fortresses composed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their most well-known form in the 16th century....
 located in Shimabara
Shimabara, Nagasaki

is a cities of Japan located on the north-eastern tip of the Shimabara Peninsula, facing Ariake Bay in the east and Mount Unzen in the west, in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan....
, Hizen Province
Hizen Province

was a former old provinces of Japan of Japan which bordered on the provinces Chikuzen province and Chikugo province. It was included in Saikaido, and today the area is split into Saga prefecture and Nagasaki prefecture prefectures, although it did not include the regions of Tsushima Province and Iki Province that are now part of modern Nagasaki...
 (present day Nagasaki prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki....
. This five-story white building stands in stark contrast to the black Kumamoto Castle
Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto Castle is a castle in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan that has been opened to the public for tours. A large, and in its day, an extremely well fortified Japanese castle....
 in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture

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

abara Castle is a , located between Ariake Bay and Mount Unzen
Mount Unzen

is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, Japan?s southernmost main island....
. The outer moat
Moat

A moat is deep, broad trench, usually filled with water, that surrounds a structure, installation, or town, normally to provide it with a preliminary line of Defense ....
s, some 15 meters deep and between 30-50 meters wide, extended 360 meters east-west and 1260 meters north-south, with the enclosed area divided into three bailey
Bailey

Bailey may refer to:*"Bailey", the outer wall of a castle, or the area within these walls ; see Motte-and-bailey*Bailey is also a name. Either for a boy or girl :]...
s.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Shimabara Castle'
Start a new discussion about 'Shimabara Castle'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


, also known as and , is a Japanese castle
Japanese castle

were fortresses composed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their most well-known form in the 16th century....
 located in Shimabara
Shimabara, Nagasaki

is a cities of Japan located on the north-eastern tip of the Shimabara Peninsula, facing Ariake Bay in the east and Mount Unzen in the west, in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan....
, Hizen Province
Hizen Province

was a former old provinces of Japan of Japan which bordered on the provinces Chikuzen province and Chikugo province. It was included in Saikaido, and today the area is split into Saga prefecture and Nagasaki prefecture prefectures, although it did not include the regions of Tsushima Province and Iki Province that are now part of modern Nagasaki...
 (present day Nagasaki prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki....
. This five-story white building stands in stark contrast to the black Kumamoto Castle
Kumamoto Castle

Kumamoto Castle is a castle in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan that has been opened to the public for tours. A large, and in its day, an extremely well fortified Japanese castle....
 in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture

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

Description

Shimabara Castle is a , located between Ariake Bay and Mount Unzen
Mount Unzen

is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, Japan?s southernmost main island....
. The outer moat
Moat

A moat is deep, broad trench, usually filled with water, that surrounds a structure, installation, or town, normally to provide it with a preliminary line of Defense ....
s, some 15 meters deep and between 30-50 meters wide, extended 360 meters east-west and 1260 meters north-south, with the enclosed area divided into three bailey
Bailey

Bailey may refer to:*"Bailey", the outer wall of a castle, or the area within these walls ; see Motte-and-bailey*Bailey is also a name. Either for a boy or girl :]...
s. The walls extended for 3900 meters and had 16 yagura
Yagura

Yagura is the Japanese word for "tower" or "turret." The word is most often seen in reference to structures within Japanese castle compounds, but can be used in a variety of other situations as well....
 of various sizes at key points. The main donjon
Keep

A keep is a strong central tower which is used as a dungeon or a fortress. Often, the keep is the most defended area of a castle, and as such may form the main Human habitat area, or contain important stores such as the Armory , food, and the main water well, which would ensure survival during a siege....
 had five stories, and a height of 33 meters, and was connected to two secondary keeps, each with three stories. In terms of scale, it was far larger than normal for a daimyo
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 with revenues of only 40,000 koku
Koku

The is a unit of volume in Japan, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres....
 .

History

The Arima clan
Arima clan

The was a Japanese feudal daimyo family dating to the Sengoku period. Its name "Arima," transliterates as "has horses," reflecting the samurai/cavalry origins of the family....
, who were Kirishitan
Kirishitan

, from Portuguese language crist?o, referred to Roman Catholic Christians in Japanese language and is used as a historiographic term for Roman Catholics in Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries....
 daimyo, ruled over Shimabara Domain
Shimabara Domain

The was a Han of Edo period Japan, located in Hizen Province, Kyushu, occupying most of Shimabara Peninsula....
 in the late Muromachi period
Muromachi period

The was a division of History of Japan running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1336 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji....
 from Hinoe Castle and Hara Castle. After the start of the national isolation
Sakoku

was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter or Japanese could leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633-1639 and remained in effect until 1853 with the arrival of Matthew C....
 policy, the Tokugawa Bakufu banned Christianity from 1614 and replaced Arima Naozumi
Arima Naozumi

was the first son of the Christian daimyo Arima Harunobu. He was baptized as a child with the name Miguel . He was born in Hinoe Castle in Shimabara, Nagasaki but was sent by his father to work beside Tokugawa Ieyasu at the age of 15....
 with Matsukura Shigemasa
Matsukura Shigemasa

Japanese feudal lord of the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. Held the title of Bingo no Kami and the Imperial court rank of junior 5th, lower grade ....
. Matsukura, who strictly enforced the prohibition against Christianity with mass executions, also severely raised taxes to pay for the construction of his new Shimabara Castle from 1618-1624. This oppression of the peasants was a major factor leading to the Shimabara Rebellion
Shimabara Rebellion

The was an rebellion largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Christianity, in 1637?1638 during the Edo period. It was also one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule....
.

The castle came under siege during the Shimabara Rebellion, but was not damaged. It subsequently served as the seat of the Koriki clan
Koriki clan

The was a Japanese clan which came to prominence during the Sengoku period. As retainers of the Tokugawa clan, the Koriki became daimyo in the Edo period....
, who ruled Shimabara from 1638-1668, Matsudaira clan
Matsudaira clan

The was a Japanese clan that claimed descent from the Minamoto clan. It first originated in and took its name from Matsudaira village, in Mikawa Province ....
 (1668-1747, 1774-1871) and Toda clan (1747-1774)

The Matsudaira daimyo remained in residence at Shimabara Castle until the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure....
 of 1868. It was the seat of the local government until 1871, when the former Shimabara Domain was merged into the new Nagasaki prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Nagasaki, Nagasaki....
. The keep was pulled down in 1876, as were most of the supporting structures. The third bailey became a school grounds, and most of the inner bailey was given over to farmland.

Today, only the moat and stone walls remain from the original structure. A number of the yagura were restored in 1960 and 1972, and the keep was rebuilt in 1964 in reinforced concrete as a city museum containing exhibits of the Kirishitan culture, Shimabara Rebellion and feudal period.

In 1980, a memorial museum was opened in honor of Seibo Kitamura, a noted sculptor.

External links