Nakatsu Castle: A Historic Water Castle and Domain Seat in Japan
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.9
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Japan
- Primary era
- Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Tokugawa, Toyotomi regime
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page14 sections
History
Nakatsu Castle is a Japanese castle in Nakatsu, Japan, begun in 1587–1588 under Kuroda Yoshitaka after Toyotomi Hideyoshi granted him the Nakatsu region. It became the seat of the Nakatsu domain during the Edo period and is counted among Japan’s three great water castles, alongside Takamatsu Castle and Imabari Castle.
Foundation and early development
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord who unified Japan in the late sixteenth century, awarded Nakatsu to the daimyo Kuroda Yoshitaka after the Kyushu Campaign in 1587. A daimyo was a powerful feudal lord who governed a domain under the shogunate. After Yoshitaka became governor of the region, work began on the castle in 1587–1588.
Yoshitaka later received larger territories in Fukuoka after the Battle of Sekigahara. The Kuroda were replaced in Buzen Province by the Hosokawa family. Hosokawa Tadaoki took control of Kokura, while his son Hosokawa Tadatoshi received Nakatsu Castle.
Expansion under the Hosokawa
The Hosokawa substantially enlarged the castle by adding the San-no-maru, the third defensive compound, and extending the castle town eastward toward the former Yamakuni River. The principal Edo-period lords included the Hosokawa from 1604, with an assessed income of 399,900 koku, the Ogasawara from 1622, with 80,000 koku, and the Okudaira from 1717, with 100,000 koku. A koku was a historical measure of agricultural income conventionally associated with the rice needed to support one person for a year.
The Hosokawa left Nakatsu in 1622. The Ogasawara then governed the domain, followed by the Okudaira, who remained there until the Meiji Restoration, the political transformation beginning in 1868 that ended the Tokugawa shogunate and established imperial government. Nakatsu Castle escaped the “One Castle per Province” edict and continued to exist through the Edo period.
Destruction and reconstruction
The castle was abandoned in 1871, and its buildings were demolished in 1872. The original castle was destroyed by fire during the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, a major revolt against the new Meiji government.
The present castle was reconstructed in 1964 by descendants of the Okudaira clan, with support from Okudaira Akinobu, a grandson of the last daimyo. The reconstruction followed the model of Hagi Castle. It now functions as a history museum, displaying heirlooms associated with the families that governed the region and materials connected with rangaku, or Dutch learning, the study of Western science, medicine, and related knowledge through Dutch books and contacts during Japan’s period of restricted foreign relations.
The grounds also preserve religious traditions linked with earlier rulers. Three shrines stand within the castle grounds, including the Kii Shrine, dedicated to the Utsunomiya clan, which is described as having ruled the region for about 400 years from the Kamakura period. The Okudaira Shrine is regarded as important by local residents, and another shrine honors the founders of the Okudaira clan.
Local folklore tells that rebels attacked Yoshitaka’s castle and were killed there. Their bloodstains were said to remain visible through successive coats of paint, prompting Yoshitaka to order the walls painted red. The original castle also contained a small shrine dedicated to Kii Shigefusa, a regional warrior associated with the Utsunomiya clan.
Remains
Nakatsu Castle was built on the east bank of the Nakatsu River after a slight natural rise was leveled. The lowland castle, or hirajiro, covered approximately 78,000 square meters. Its grounds formed an open fan shape, bordered by a traditional stone wall and a moat. Salt water from the nearby Seto Inland Sea supplied the moat, giving the site its character as a water castle.
Enclosures and defensive works
Castle plan
The original plan consisted of a central district, a two-tiered Hommaru, the main enclosure, and the eastern Ni-no-maru, the second defensive compound. The San-no-maru was added during the Hosokawa expansion. These enclosures formed the principal organization of the castle within its walls and moat.
Reconstructed buildings
Castle tower
The reconstructed castle tower has a steel frame. It appears externally as a five-story building but contains six internal levels. The uppermost floor serves as an observation deck.
Watchtower
A two-story watchtower was reconstructed together with the castle tower in 1964. It forms part of the surviving reconstructed architecture on the castle grounds.
Shrines and museum
Kii Shrine
The Kii Shrine stands within the castle grounds and is dedicated to the Utsunomiya clan. Its presence connects the site with the tradition of Utsunomiya rule in the region from the Kamakura period.
Okudaira Shrine
The Okudaira Shrine is associated with the Okudaira family, which governed Nakatsu from 1717 until the Meiji Restoration. A separate shrine on the grounds is dedicated to the founders of the Okudaira clan.
History museum
The present museum occupies the reconstructed castle complex. Its displays include heirlooms of the families that governed the region and materials relating to rangaku, the Western learning associated with Nakatsu.
