I took a walk around Kokura Castle and decided to go in for a visit since it has been a while since I went inside the castle. I also walked around the neighboring shrine Yasaka Shrine.
Kokura Castle, located in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka was originally built in 1608 by Hosokawa Tadaoki. He was awarded land in Buzen, modern-day Fukuoka, after his loyalty and support of Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Battle of Sekigahara. It took the domain six years to complete its construction. Throughout the Edo period, Kokura established an important position as the starting point of highways leading to all parts of Kyushu, and at the same time, Kokura Castle was further enriched and the castle town flourished.
In 1632, supervision of the castle and domain changed families when Hosokawa Tadatoshi was relocated to Higo. Supervision of the castle was then transferred to the Ogasawara family until they were forced to retreat from the domain and set fire to the castle after a battle with an invading Chosu army during the Tokugawa shogunate’s second punitive military expedition in 1866. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the castle was used as a military base for the Japanese imperial army and later the Allied Forces after World War II.
In 1612, Miyamoto Musashi had his famous duel with master swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. The two had a duel to the death on Ganryu Island not too far from Kokura Castle. It is said that Miyamoto Musashi showed up to the duel hours late and then defeated the frustrated Kojiro by striking him on the head with a wooden sword that he carved during the boat ride to the island. Miyamoto Musashi later spent some time as a resident in Kokura and entered the service of Ogasawara Tadazane taking a major role in quashing the Shimabara Rebellion.
This large taiko drum was on the top floor of Kokura Castle during the Edo Period. It is said to have served as an alarm to warn the people of the castle town in case of disaster, enemy attack, or other emergencies. After Kokura Castle burned down during the second Chosu Expedition in 1866, it was lost for many years. It was later discovered in 1968 and repaired to its original form.
Yasaka Shrine is the highest ranked shrine in the city and it stands on the ruin of the Kita-no-maru building of Kokura Castle. It was built in 1617 by Hosokawa Tadaoki, the same lord who ordered construction of Kokura Castle. The shrine was once called Gion-sha and it was located at a different location in Imoji-machi. According to a 17th-century legend, during Tadaoki’s hunting trip, he found a small shrine and peeked inside for a closer look at the statue of a deity. Suddenly, a falcon flew out from the shrine and damaged Tadaoki’s eyes with its talons. Facing the possible crisis of losing his eyes, Tadaoki saw it as a god’s punishment and he built a magnificent shrine to ask for forgiveness. His eyes are said to have healed after that. Gion-sha was renamed Yasaka Shrine in 1868 when the new Meiji government introduced a policy to separate the previously connected Shinto and Buddhist religions. The main shrine was later transferred to its current location next to Kokura Castle in 1934.
AloJapan.com