Castle Maps

[Noir]

These are a few pictures i took of Kumamoto Castle, while in Japan. Kumamoto-jo was built originally by the Kato clan and handed over to the Hosokawa clan later on. It is unlikely that it is representative of the hundreds of fortifications that were standing guarding every pass of importance during the period of civil wars; however it does give a good idea of Japanese castles, as it is one of the three largest that stand at the moment (the other two being Himeji castle and Osaka castle).
The main keep has been reconstructed in the 1960's to detail with a reinforced concrete frame (wood for such purposes is extremely expensive and further more there's the issue of public safety during earthquakes i guess).

Kumamoto castle is most famous for being the locus of the infamous Satsuma rebellion, during the Meiji restoration, that was the main theme of the movie "The last Samurai".

The inside of the castle serves as a museum, with many items of interest.

The castle being residence of Hosokawa (of Higo) lords and their armour is presented here as it was exhibited inside the museum.

You'll also notice a crowd dressed in samurai gear, that was due to a festival at the time of my visit.

1. Castle Main Gate (guarded!)


2. Moat