Funai Castle

History

Fukuhara Naotaka moved from Usuki and started building the castle in 1597. The castle was completed 2 years later. Fukuhara was sent back to Usuki and replaced by Hayakawa Nagamasa. Hayakawa joined the losing side of the Battle of Sekigahara and committed seppuku. The new lord Takenaka Shigetoshi started renovating much of the castle and built the main keep in 1602. Shigetoshi's son Shigeyoshi committed seppuku in 1634 for his part in a scandal while he was the Nagasaki Bugyo (governor of the port of Nagasaki). He was replaced by Hineno Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki died in 1656 and from that point, Funai Castle was ruled by the Matsudaira, starting with Matsudaira Tadaaki.

Visit Notes

It looks like an easy walk from the station, but there are also buses from the station to the site. If going by car, the honmaru is now a parking lot. I'm sure I saw somewhere on the site that US armed forces stationed in Kyushu after the war played a part in some of the reconstruction done, but I cannot find any information about that now.

Gallery

Southwest Yagura
Otemon Gate
Otemon Gate
Rokabashi
Rokabashi
Rokabashi Bridge and bailey
Main keep foundation
Southeast Yagura
Southeast yagura
Otemon Gate
map

Castle Profile
English Name	Funai Castle
Japanese Name	府内城
Alternate Names	Oita-jo, Oita Funai-jo, Nioroshi-jo, Niage-jo, Hakuchi-jo
Founder	Fukuhara Naotaka
Year Founded	1597
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Top 100 Castles, Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Year Reconstructed	1965 (turrets, tamon, Otemon gate), 1996 (covered bridge)
Features	gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	JR Oita Station (Nippo Line); 10 min walk
Visitor Information	Entry is free, parking is not
Time Required	One hour or less
Website	http://www.visit-oita.jp/feature/2011 autumn/funai.html
Location	Oita City, Oita Prefecture
Coordinates	33° 14' 26.30" N, 131° 36' 41.15" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2012
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

2.00

(5 votes)

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Matthew WardGunshi

4 months ago

Score 0

Reading about this castle a little more, it seems that the castle was mostly destroyed in 1743 by fire, including the main keep. The main keep was never rebuilt, but the castle was partially reconstructed in the late Edo period, including the two turrets mentioned below. A number of the remaining buildings were destroyed in WWII air raids, leaving only the walls, moats and the Hitojichi and Shumon yaguras. Also as mentioned below, the other 5 structures on the site were rebuilt post-war.

There also seems to be discussion about rebuilding the main keep, but it hasn't happened yet, partially because of lack of information about how the it looked (though there are apparently some drawings of it), and partially because of lack of funding.

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Matthew WardGunshi

5 months ago

Score 1

I was reading about this castle from a few sources earlier today, and it seems that two of the yagura, the Hitojichi Yagura and the Shumon Yagura are technically original, albeit not particularly ancient. One was rebuilt in 1859 and the other in 1861. As for the modern reconstructions, the Ote gate was rebuilt in 1965 with 3 other turrets, and the Rokabashi in 1996. All in all, sounds like a fairly extensive little site.

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FurinkazanHatamoto

127 months ago

Score 1

The site has several reconstructed towers and some ishigaki. There is no museum. The nihon 100 meijo stamp is at the entrance of the cultural hall, which is on the castle-grounds. There is a lovely park next to the tenshukakudai. Imo the most interesting building on this site is the roukabashi, which is the only structure where you can enter.

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