Hitoyoshi Castle

From Jcastle.info

Hitoyoshi16.jpg

History

The original Hitoyoshi Castle was founded by Sagara Nagayori in 1198. From this time, the Sagara made Hitoyoshi their home for 35 generations. The first evidence of a Sengoku Period castle appears in 1470 when Sagara Tametsugu was lord. In 1589 Sagara Nagatsune began a large scale renovation of the castle. The baileys and main structures were completed in 1601 and the stone walls were completed in 1644. An interesting feature of this castle is that it made use of the Kumagawa River as the outer moat and built in many boat landings to increase water traffic and trade. The castle was dismantled in 1872 and only the stone walls remain. Recent reconstruction efforts have rebuilt two yagura and a gate.


Visit Notes

Extensive ruins. Hitoyoshi Castle has a nice combination of buildings and stone walls for any castle fan.




Gallery
  • Tamon Yagura
  • Tamon Yagura
  • Tamon Yagura
  • Tamon Yagura
  • wall and yagura
  • sumiyagura
  • Honmaru
  • Ninomaru
  • Ninomaru
  • Sannomaru bailey
  • Nakanogomon, NInomaru, Sannomaru
  • View from where a salt storage building once stood.
  • Path from Oshitamon
  • Oshitamon
  • Oshitamon
  • Horiaimon, west of Oshitamon


Castle Profile
English Name Hitoyoshi Castle
Japanese Name 人吉城
Alternate Names Kuma-jo, Mikazuki-jo, Sengetsu-jo
Founder Sagara Nagayori
Year Founded 1198
Castle Type Hilltop
Castle Condition No main keep but other buildings
Designations Top 100 Castles, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period Edo Period
Features gates, turrets, stone walls, castle town
Visitor Information
Access Hitoyoshi Sta. (Hisatsu Line); 10 min walk
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website http://www.city.hitoyoshi.lg.jp/q/aview/186/1341.html
Location Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture
Coordinates 32° 12' 39.89" N, 130° 45' 59.36" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle 2012
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed


2.33
(3 votes)
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FurinkazanDaimyo

132 months ago
Score 0++
The weather was nice today, not like yesterday, and this made the visit to this site more interesting. It is a nice park to stroll around and the reconstructed buildings are well done. In the little museum you'll find the nihon 100 meijo stamp.