Fukuoka Castle (福岡城 -jō) is a Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. The castle is also known as Maizuru Castle (舞鶴城 -jō) or Seki Castle (石城 -jō). Completed in the early Edo period for tozama daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa, it has been decreed a historic site by the Japanese government.
History
The castle lies in the center of Fukuoka, on top of Fukusaki hill. The Nakagawa river, (那珂川 Nakagawa?) acts as a natural moat on the eastern side of the castle, while the western side uses a mudflat as a natural moat. Hakata, a bustling port city, is located on the opposite side of the Nakagawa River to the east. The castle town was set on the northern side, facing the sea. Much of the castle grounds has been converted to Maizuru Park, which houses several sports facilities, a courthouse, and an art museum. Heiwadai Baseball Stadium, the past home field of the Seibu Lions and Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, was also located on the castle grounds. Many of the castle's gates and yaguras are preserved inside of the park, some of which have been marked as important historical artifacts by the Japanese government. The remnants of a Korokan (鴻臚館 Kōrokan?) foreign embassy were discovered on the castle grounds in 1987, showing that the castle was a vital geographical checkpoint even into the Heian period. This is the only Korokan remnant found in all of Japan.
Construction
The Kuroda family of Yoshitaka (father) and Nagamasa (son) received huge rewards of land in Nakatsu, Buzen Province, and Chikuzen Province for their contributions at the Battle of Sekigahara, and moved into Najima Castle (名島城 -jō) to form the Fukuoka han. Najima Castle had been created by Tachibana Akitoshi and was expanded by Kobayakawa Takakage, but was much too small to accommodate a large han, leading to the selection of Fukusaki hill as the new castle site. Construction began in 1601 (Keichō year 6). Yoshitaka was already an expert at establishing fortifications, and Noguchi Kazunari, a stone mason who had worked on Edo Castle and Osaka Castle, also directed the construction. Completed in 1607 (Keichō year 12) after seven years of work, the castle contained an impressive 47 yaguras, and covered an area of 47,000 square meters (largest in the Kyūshū region). Katō Kiyomasa of the nearby Kumamoto han lauded the castle for its grandeur. The dry stone fortification designed by Noguchi was especially impressive, giving the castle the name "Sekijō" (literally "Stone Castle"). The castle and castle town were renamed to "Fukuoka" from "Fukusaki," after Bizen Province, Fukuoka (current Osafune, Okayama), where the Kuroda family had originated. Several minor repairs were made during the Edo period, and a full-scale renovation was conducted during the Bakumatsu period. In 1871, (Meiji year 4) the abolition of the han system forced the abandonment of the castle. Many of the buildings inside the castle grounds were taken down or moved to other locations. In 1920, (Taisho year 9) the kinen-yagura was relocated to Taisho temple in Yahata Higashi-ku, Kitakyushu. The building was moved back to its original location in 1983. On August 29, 1957, the castle was decreed a historic site by the Japanese government. Additional gates and yaguras were also decreed historical artifacts by the prefectural government in 1952, 1961, 1971 and 1957. Part of the central gate was set on fire by a vandal in 2000. Plans for reconstructing the central gate are currently underway.
