Hagi Castle - Hagi Museum and Meirinkan

Hagi Museum The Hagi Museum covers much more than just the samurai lineage, but that's what we're focused on here. The site of the museum is the Kumagai Residence, which has been long lost but due to detailed maps made in 1847 allowed the faithful reconstruction of parts of the site includin

Hagi Castle - Hagi Museum and Meirinkan

萩博物館と明倫館

Hagi Museum The Hagi Museum covers much more than just the samurai lineage, but that's what we're focused on here. The site of the museum is the Kumagai Residence, which has been long lost but due to detailed maps made in 1847 allowed the faithful reconstruction of parts of the site including the Nagayamon, a corner yagura turret and part of the residence. The corner yagura is particularly interesting because it also provides a turret covering the Naka-no-mon, the middle gate, across the sotobori. The main road from the gate ran alongside this turret and nagayamon to reach the castle so the Kumagai also played a vital role in the defense of the castle. The map of the residence also show the locations of shrubbery including several citrus trees so we see that the natsu mikan were cultivated well before the Meiji Period too.

Meirinkan The Meirinkan was another name of the Hanko, or, Domain School. The big building you see today called Meirinkan is actually from the Meiji Period, but there are some original structures from the Edo Period too: Yubikan (hall for practicing martial arts), the South Gate and the Kantokumon Gate.