ARCHITECTUREJAPAN
The mushagaeshi stone walls and the keep of Kumamoto Castle

Castles · Historic Buildings

Kumamoto Castle熊本城

Location
Kumamoto Prefecture Kumamoto (Chūō Ward)
Keep rebuilt
1960

Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

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Overview

Stone walls curving into "mushagaeshi". A great castle rising again after the earthquake.

A castle built by Katō Kiyomasa, famous for its "mushagaeshi" stone walls, which grow steeper towards the top. The keep burned down just before the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, and its exterior was reconstructed in steel-reinforced concrete in 1960.

The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes severely damaged its stone walls and buildings, but the main keep was restored in 2021 and its interior reopened to the public. Restoration of the castle as a whole continues under a long-term plan.

This description has been translated from the Japanese original.

Official website

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Data

Only verified information is shown.

Keep rebuilt
1960
Location
1-1 Honmaru, Chūō Ward, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture
Main keep restoration completed
2021
Category
CastlesHistoric BuildingsKyushu

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Videos

Related videos (YouTube)

Video titles and channel names are shown in their original language. Copyright belongs to each video's publisher.

OfficialSource: 熊本城【公式】 (YouTube)Watch on YouTube ↗

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Builder & DesignerSource: 大林組公式チャンネル (YouTube)Watch on YouTube ↗

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Location

1-1 Honmaru, Chūō Ward, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture

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Sources

References

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Photo Credits

Image sources, authors and licences