Akizuki Castle

From Jcastle.info

Akizuki1.jpg

History

Harada Tanekatsu built a mountaintop castle atop Mt. Kosho and a fortified home at the base in 1203. At this time they changed their name to Akizuki. The Akizuki continued to rule for 16 generations until Hideyoshi's 1587 Kyushu Campaign. At this time, the mountaintop castle was destroyed and the castle was abandoned. In 1624, Kuroda Nagamasa's third son Nagaoki was given lands around Akizuki and rebuilt the castle partially with materials from the earlier fortifications. The Kuroda continued to rule for 12 generations until the Meiji Restration when the castle was dismantled in 1873.


Visit Notes

Photos donated by Daniel from Japanese Castle Explorer




Gallery
  • Nagayamon
  • Nagayamon
  • stone walls
  • kuromon gate
  • Kuromon gate
  • stone walls


Castle Profile
English Name Akizuki Castle
Japanese Name 秋月城
Alternate Names Akizuki Jinya
Founder Akizuki Tanekatsu
Year Founded 1203
Castle Type Flatland
Castle Condition No main keep but other buildings
Designations Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Features gates, samurai homes, trenches, stone walls, walls, castle town
Visitor Information
Access Amagi Sta. (Amagi Line), bus
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website http://www.city.asakura.lg.jp/sighseeing/akizuki.html
Location Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture
Coordinates 33° 27' 57.85" N, 130° 41' 43.55" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2009
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed
Nearby Samurai Homes
3.67
(3 votes)
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ARTShogun

18 months ago
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Tidied up gallery for this profile and other kyushu ones with bukeyashiki :3
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ARTShogun

18 months ago
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As well as other profiles where I have stray pictures of bukeyashiki...
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ARTShogun

51 months ago
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Akiźukijō is an incredibly pleasant site for a stroll, and conjures up in its turn all those quaint infinitudes of aesthetic charm that truly bless this grand archipelago. I can't say whereat this pleasing array was most bold. The castle town in its rustic loveliness of by-gone days? The mossy piled stone on the ramparts of the castle ruin? The sacred causeway of the shrine on the mount? In the infinitesimal transienge of mood, atmosphere and lighting, what objectivist could say for sure?

The ruins of Akiźuki Castle contain ample ishigaki (stone ramparts) for the castle ruin enthusiast to appreciate, and even some extant structures, of which chiefly stark is the black gate: it stands like a lonely shadow in the verdure of the orchard. Stone and earthen ramparts are found at the foot of the old castle mount. Unique and mysterious is a prominent ramp-like bridge which rises to the beneath the ramparts but appears to go nowhere further, being a dead-end, or false start? The mizubori (water moat), as shallow as a puddle today, flows beneath a rectangular opening in the carefully placed stone blocks of the bridge. Perhaps placed for traction due to the incline, the bridge's track is made of tiles stood on end.
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ARTShogun

53 months ago
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I rate this site highly for the castle town, bukeyashiki and quaint ruins.
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ARTShogun

53 months ago
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Added the Tashiro-bukeyashiki and the Hisano-bukeyashiki.
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Anonymous user #1

160 months ago
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I wonder if kuroda kanbei or kuroda nagamasa found Akizuki castle