Kokura Castle is traditionally considered to have been founded by Hosokawa Tadaoki (1563–1645), although by the time the Hosokawa clan came to control these lands, the fortification had already existed since at least 1569 and was most likely built by members of the Mori clan.
Initially, Hosokawa Tadaoki served Oda Nobunaga. In the 1580s, he married Tама, the daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide (her Christian name was Gracia, 1563–1600). When Akechi Mitsuhide launched a rebellion that resulted in the death of Oda Nobunaga, he expected Tadaoki to support him in the struggle against Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Nobunaga’s former generals. However, Tadaoki refused to join Mitsuhide and later swore allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As a vassal of Hideyoshi, he took part in the campaigns at Komaki and Odawara. In the 1590s, Tadaoki grew closer to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and in 1600, during the Sekigahara campaign, he sided with him. On the eve of the decisive battle, Ishida Mitsunari attempted to put pressure on his opponents by taking members of their families hostage, including Gracia, but she chose to take her own life instead.
At the Battle of Sekigahara, Tadaoki commanded a five-thousand-man force positioned at the vanguard of the Tokugawa army and took part in clashes with the troops of Shima Sakon. After the victory, he was rewarded with the Nakatsu domain in Buzen Province, and in 1602 he was granted the Kokura domain.
The main residence of his holdings was considered to be Nakatsu Castle, located on the eastern coast of Kyushu. However, Tadaoki decided to move the center of his domain to the northern part of the island, to an area where major transportation routes between Kyushu and Honshu converged. He began constructing a new castle, inviting skilled craftsmen and experienced builders from various regions of the country. Tadaoki also invested significant effort and resources into developing the castle town surrounding it. Construction was fully completed by 1608.
In 1620, Tadaoki abdicated in favor of his son Tadatoki (1586–1641), who became the second daimyo of the Kokura domain. In 1632, Hosokawa Tadatoki was transferred to Kumamoto Castle, and Kokura passed to a relative of the Hosokawa clan, Ogasawara Tadaazane (1596–1667). Tadaazane, a great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, came to Kokura from Akashi Castle. At his invitation, the Zen Buddhist monk Sokuhi, a representative of the Ōbaku school, arrived in the city, and several temples were built.
In 1634, at Tadaazane’s invitation, the renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi came to the castle. He lived in Kokura for seven years—the longest period he spent in one place throughout his life. During this time, the Niten Ichi-ryu school was established in the city, focusing primarily on the two-sword fighting technique developed and practiced by Musashi himself.
The Ogasawara clan controlled the castle for more than 230 years. In 1837, the Kokura donjon, along with the other buildings, was destroyed in a major fire. Two years later, the castle was restored, but the main tower was not rebuilt.
During the Bakumatsu period (1853–1869), the castle served as the headquarters for forces opposing the uprising of the Choshu clan against the shogunate. In 1866, the combined forces of the Kokura and Kumamoto domains attempted to suppress the rebellion but were defeated. The Ogasawara clan was forced to abandon Kokura Castle, which was set on fire by the retreating troops and burned to the ground. In 1869, the last Ogasawara daimyo, Tadanobu, transferred ownership of the castle to the emperor.
During World War II, the city of Kokura was designated as a secondary target for the first atomic bombing and the primary target for the second. However, the first bomb was dropped on the main target, Hiroshima, and a dense fog prevented the second bomb from being dropped on Kokura, leading to the selection of the alternate target, Nagasaki. Thus, Kokura narrowly escaped destruction twice.
After the war, the castle was confiscated by American occupation forces and returned to Japan in 1957.
In 1959, the castle’s main tower was reconstructed using reinforced concrete. This reconstruction is considered an example of a so-called “fake” castle, as its modern appearance differs significantly from the historical original: the donjon built by Hosokawa Tadaoki belonged to the simple sotogata type and had no gables. The present tower, by contrast, is decorated with numerous gables and can be classified as the namban-style, since its top floor is significantly larger than the one below it. The total height of the donjon is nearly 50 meters, about 19 meters of which are accounted for by the stone base. The tower consists of four tiers and five stories; the fifth story is larger than the fourth and features a panoramic observation deck. Since 1971, the donjon has housed a museum with an interesting collection of artifacts. By 1991, some of the castle’s secondary structures had also been reconstructed.
See also
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Hiroshima Castle
Mōri Terumoto (1553–1625) was the grandson and rightful heir of the renowned Mōri Motonari. When Terumoto became the head of the Mōri clan in 1571, he inherited vast territories covering a large part of the San’in and San’yō regions in western Honshū. In addition, the Mōri clan possessed the largest and most technologically advanced naval fleet of its time.
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Fukuyama Castle
After the defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori’s supporters in the Osaka Campaigns of 1614–1615, many clans in Japan still remained not fully loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, especially in the western Chūgoku region. Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651), a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the first of the Tokugawa house’s close retainers, the so-called fudai daimyō, to be relocated to this strategically important area.
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Tiba Castle
The founder of the Chiba clan is considered to be Chiba Tsunesige (1083–1180), who in 1126 moved his residence to the Inohana area and built a strongly fortified stronghold there. Although Tsunesige himself came from the Taira clan, the Chiba clan later supported Minamoto no Yoritomo, the future founder of the first shogunate.
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Sunomata Castle
Oda Nobunaga, as part of his “final solution” to the conflict with the Saitō clan, conceived the construction of a fort in the Sunomata area, which was intended to serve as a forward base for an attack on Inabayama Castle (later renamed Gifu). Sunomata was a swampy area located between Ogaki Castle, a stronghold of the Oda clan, and Inabayama, the main fortress of the Saitō clan. Earlier attempts to build fortifications in this area, carried out by Oda generals Sakuma Nobumori and Shibata Katsuie, had all ended in failure. After that, the task was entrusted to the young vassal Kinoshita Tokichirō, who later became known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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Shibata Castle
The exact time when structures first appeared on the site of the present-day castle is unknown; however, it is generally believed that the first fortified buildings were constructed here during the Muromachi period, when these lands were controlled by the Shibata clan.
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Okayama Castle
According to a number of accounts, the earliest fortifications on the site of present-day Okayama Castle appeared as early as the 14th century and were built by the Nawa clan. The Asahigawa River was used as a natural defensive barrier, protecting one side of the fortifications.
In the early 16th century, the Kanamitsu clan constructed a new castle here, which at the time was known as Ishiyama. In 1573, it came under the control of the Ukita clan, after which Ukita Naoie (1529–1582) launched large-scale reconstruction efforts. He did not live to see the work completed, and construction was continued by his son Hideie. -
Nagahama Castle
Hashiba, later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, received Odani Castle and the surrounding lands from Oda Nobunaga after the defeat of the Azai clan. However, Odani Castle was located high in the mountains, which made it poorly suited for the effective administration of the territory. For this reason, in 1575 Hideyoshi began constructing a new castle in the village of Imahama on the shore of Lake Biwa. Taking the character naga from Nobunaga’s name, he renamed both the village and the new castle Nagahama.
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Ikeda Castle
In 1334, Ikeda Noriyoshi built a small fort on this site, which over time was repeatedly expanded and rebuilt. During the Ōnin War of 1467–1477, the Ikeda clan supported the Western Coalition. As a result, Ikeda Castle was attacked and captured by the forces of the Eastern Coalition, but it was soon recaptured, allowing it to avoid serious destruction.
