Kuroda Yoshitaka (1546–1604) was one of the closest advisors to the legendary military commander Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He took part in key military campaigns of the late 16th century, including the campaign against Shikoku in 1585 and the campaign against Kyushu in 1587. Later, during the second campaign in Korea, Yoshitaka served as chief advisor to the commander of the invasion forces, Kobayakawa Hideaki. After Hideyoshi's death, he swore allegiance to Tokugawa Ieyasu, thereby securing his influence and patronage under Japan's new leader.
In 1587, Toyotomi Hideyoshi commissioned Yoshitaka to build a new castle on the current site. By 1588, the main buildings had been completed. This castle was named Nakatsu and became one of the rare examples of so-called mizujiro, or “castles on water.” One side of the fortress faced directly onto the sea, and during high tide, seawater filled the moats, turning the castle into a natural fortress. The layout of the castle resembled an open fan, which is why it was also given the poetic name Ogijō, meaning “fan castle.”
After the great battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which brought victory to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kuroda Yoshitaka received richer possessions in the territory of modern Fukuoka Prefecture. Nakatsu Castle was transferred to Hosokawa Tadaoki. The new owner fortified and expanded the castle, but at the same time began construction of his new residence, Kokura Castle. When Kokura was ready, Tadaoki transferred Nakatsu to his son, Hosokawa Tadatosi.
Later, the castle passed into the possession of the Ogasawara clan, and in 1717 it was given to Okudaira Masashige. The Okudaira clan owned the fortress until the Meiji Restoration. At various times, famous people lived within the walls of Nakatsu: the scholar Maeno Ryotaku (1723–1803), author of a Japanese-Dutch dictionary, and the outstanding Meiji-era philosopher Fukuzawa Yukichi (1834–1901).
In 1877, during Saigo Takamori's rebellion against the new Japanese government, the castle was severely damaged, with 22 watchtowers and the main keep burned down. It was not until 1964 that the keep was rebuilt in reinforced concrete with funds from the descendants of the Okudaira clan. Since the original drawings and images of the castle were not preserved, archival photographs of Hagi Castle, destroyed in 1874, were used for the reconstruction.
Until 2010, the castle buildings were privately owned, after which they were purchased by a company from Saitama Prefecture. The modern donjon of Nakatsu Castle consists of five tiers and five floors, and its walls are covered with black boards. A two-tiered watchtower stands nearby, and the residence of Yukichi Fukuzawa has also been restored.
Today, the donjon houses a historical museum with an interesting collection of artifacts. Matchlock guns occupy a special place, as there are quite a few of them here. In addition, reenactment festivals are regularly held near the castle, where shooting with ancient weapons is demonstrated.
Nakatsu Castle is also associated with the descendants of the samurai Ochia Michihisa, the very warrior who depicted the crucified Torii Sunemon, the hero of the siege of Nagashino Castle, on his battle flag.
See also
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Kaminoyama Castle
Kamino-yama Castle stood at the center of an important logistics hub, in the middle of the Yonezawa Plain, which served as the gateway to the western part of the Tohoku region. Roads connecting the Aizu, Fukushima, and Yamagata areas intersected here.
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Imabari Castle
Tōdō Takatora (1556–1630) served at different times as a vassal of several famous clans—Azai, Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa. He took part in the Battle of Anegawa (1570), the Battle of Shizugatake (1583), the invasions of Kyushu and Korea, the Sekigahara campaign (1600), and the Siege of Osaka (1614–1615).
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Iwakuni Castle
Kikkawa Hiroie (1561–1625) was the grandson of the famous daimyo Mori Motonari and a vassal of the Mori clan. Under Mori Terumoto, he fought in both Korean campaigns and took part in the defense of Ulsan Castle. During the Battle of Sekigahara, Hiroie stood with his 3,000-man force on the side of the Western Coalition; however, even before the battle began, he sent Tokugawa Ieyasu a secret message stating that he did not intend to fight Tokugawa’s troops. As a result of his inaction, 15,000 soldiers under Mori Hidemoto were also unable to enter the battle, since Hiroie blocked their path.
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Gujo Hachiman Castle
Gujo Hachiman Castle is located on 350-meter Mount Hachiman, near the confluence of the Yoshidagawa and Kodaragava rivers, and not far from the Nagaragawa River. During the Sengoku period, this area was of great strategic importance: it stood at a key crossroads of routes connecting Mino Province in the south with the Sea of Japan in the north, and Hida Province in the east with Echizen Province in the west.
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Amagasaki Castle
The founding year of Amagasaki Castle is traditionally considered to be 1617, when Toda Ujikané built his castle here, making it the administrative center of the Amagasaki Domain. However, as early as the Sengoku period, a fortress built by the Hosokawa clan already stood on this site. After the fall of Itami Castle in 1579, Araki Murashige—formerly a vassal of Oda Nobunaga who had rebelled against him—fled to this earlier castle.
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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.
