Kumamoto Castle

A castle from the Muromachi to Edo periods. Located in the Honmaru in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, it is also known as Ginkgo Castle. The history of the castle dates back to the Onin and Bunmei eras (1467-1487), when Hidenobu Ideta, a member of the Kikuchi clan, built a castle on a hill on the right bank of the Tsuboi River and called it Chiba Castle. Then, around 1504 (Eisho 1) (some sources say 1521-1531), Chikakazu Kanokogi moved the castle to the southwestern end of Chausuyama and changed its name to Kumamoto Castle. Later, it was passed to the son-in-law of the eldest son-in-law, Shiro-shi, who also left in 1587 (Tensho 15) when Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered Kyushu, and Sassa Narimasa took his place and entered Kumamoto Castle as the lord of Higo. Narimasa was unable to suppress an uprising by local lords opposed to land surveys, and was forced to commit seppuku after being held responsible for the rebellion. In 1588, Kato Kiyomasa, who was given 250,000 koku of rice in the second half of Higo, entered the castle. Kiyomasa, who sided with the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, became the feudal lord of the entire Higo Province with 520,000 koku of land, including the remains of Konishi Yukinaga, the lord of southern Higo who sided with the Western Army. He began large-scale construction work in 1601 (Keicho 6), and built a new castle covering the entire Chausuyama area, including the areas of Chiba Castle and Kumamoto Castle from the Muromachi to Sengoku periods, and renamed it Kumamoto Castle. Construction was completed in 1607. In 1632 (Kan'ei 9), Kiyomasa's son Tadahiro was stripped of his title, and was replaced by Hosokawa Tadatoshi, who inherited the castle for 240 years over 12 generations until the Meiji Restoration. It is said that in its former days there were two castle towers, 49 turrets, 18 turret gates, and 29 other gates.

The main castle tower (large tower and small tower) was destroyed in a fire just before the Seinan War in 1877 (Meiji 10), and the current tower was rebuilt in 1960 (Showa 35). The Uto Tower, known as the "third tower," remains as it was and is said to have been relocated from Uto Castle, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this theory, so it is unclear. There are many other towers that still exist, and along with Himeji Castle, it is a representative castle with many ruins. The stone walls are both high and long, and the unique warrior-repelling technique known as "Kiyomasa-ko stone walls," which have a gentle slope at the base and suddenly rise upright near the top, can be seen everywhere. Kumamoto Castle is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, and the Kumamoto Castle ruins are a special historic site.

[Tetsuo Owada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町期～江戸期の城。熊本市中央区本丸にあり、別称を銀杏(ぎんなん)城という。城の歴史は、応仁(おうにん)・文明(ぶんめい)年間（1467～1487）ごろ、菊池氏の一族出田秀信(いでたひでのぶ)が坪井川右岸の丘に城を築き、千葉城と称したのに始まる。ついで1504年（永正1）ごろ（1521～1531年との説もある）鹿子木親員(かのこぎちかかず)が茶臼(ちゃうす)山の南西端に城を移し、名も隈本(くまもと)城と改めている。のち親員の女婿城氏に譲られ、その城氏も1587年（天正15）豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の九州征服のとき退去したため、かわって佐々成政(さっさなりまさ)が肥後(ひご)の領主として隈本城に入った。成政は検地反対の土豪一揆(いっき)を鎮圧できず、その乱の責任を負わされて切腹させられ、1588年肥後半国25万石を与えられた加藤清正(きよまさ)が入城した。関ヶ原の戦いで東軍に属した清正は、西軍に属した南肥後の領主小西行長(こにしゆきなが)の遺領をもあわせ肥後一国52万石の大名となり、1601年（慶長6）から大規模な築城工事を始め、室町～戦国期の千葉城、隈本城の地域をも含み、茶臼山全体に及ぶ新しい城を築き、名も熊本城と改めた。工事は1607年に完成した。1632年（寛永9）清正の子忠広(ただひろ)のとき改易となり、かわって細川忠利(ただとし)が入り、以来12代240年間相続して明治維新に至った。往時、天守閣が2、櫓(やぐら)49、櫓門18、その他の諸門が29あったといわれる。

　天守閣（大天守、小天守）は1877年（明治10）の西南戦争直前の火災で焼失してしまい、現在の天守閣は1960年（昭和35）の再建である。「三の天守」とよばれた宇土(うと)櫓は昔のままのもので、宇土城天守を移築したものといわれているが、移築説を裏づける決定的な資料がなく、不明。そのほか現存する櫓も多く、姫路(ひめじ)城とともに遺構の多い城の代表である。石垣も高石垣、長石垣とあり、基部を緩やかなスロープにし、天端(てんぱ)近くで急に直立する「清正公(せいしょうこう)石垣」とよばれる独特の武者返しの手法が随所にみられる。熊本城は国の重要文化財、熊本城跡は特別史跡。

［小和田哲男］

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