Hara Castle

I took a bus from Ote bus stop in Shimabara city. The ride to Harajomae ('In front of Hara castle') takes about 1 hour. I got my 'Next 100 meijo stamp' in a shed next to the main bailey entrance. Volunteer guides are present at that spot. The site is 1 of 12 sites called 'Hidden Christian sites in

History

The castle was built as a subsidiary castle to Hinoe castle in 1496 by Arima Takezumi. It was a typical Sengoku period castle built on a cliff facing the Ariake sea. During his rule, the Arima clan's territory reached its largest, growing to 210,000 koku and controlling most of Hizen Province. Arima Harunobu fortified the castle from 1599 to 1604. Especially the Honmaru (main bailey) got ishigaki (stone walls) and a tenshu (donjon) was built. In 1616 the Arima were relocated to Nobeoka domain in Hyuga province. Their domain was given to Matsukura Shigemasa. He first took possession of Hinoe Castle, but found it too small, and because of the 'Ikkoku ichijo rei' (one castle per province edict) built Shimabara Castle. Both Hinoe and Hara castles were abandoned. Some of their materials were cannibalised to build Shimabara castle.

In 1637 broke the Shimabara rebellion out. The rebels took refuge in Hara castle and since the ishigaki, walls and some stuctures were still present, the 20000 refugees (mostly Christians) hold out during 4 months against the 120000 men strong Shogunate army. When the castle fell, all the refugees were slaughtered. The remnants of the castle were completely razed. Even the ishigaki were demolished.

Field Notes

I took a bus from Ote bus stop in Shimabara city. The ride to Harajomae ('In front of Hara castle') takes about 1 hour. I got my 'Next 100 meijo stamp' in a shed next to the main bailey entrance. Volunteer guides are present at that spot.

The site is 1 of 12 sites called 'Hidden Christian sites in the Nagasaki region', and are together a World Cultural Heritage of the UNESCO.

There is the Arima Christian Heritage Museum, at about 2Km from the castle ruins. This museum has several artifacts and tells the story about the rebellion of 1637.

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Gallery

Amakusa Shiro
Map of the castle and area
At Harajomae bus stop
tunnel ruins
Oteguchimon ato
Third bailey
Ariake sea and honmaru in the background
Second bailey
Main bailey seen from second bailey
Map of main bailey
Main gate of honmaru ruins
Uzumemon remains
Honmarumon remains
Second bailey seen from main bailey
Honmaru ishigaki remains
demolished ishigaki
Chausuyama ruins
Honmaru seen from Amakusa bailey

Castle Profile
English Name	Hara Castle
Japanese Name	原城
Founder	Arima Takazumi
Year Founded	1496
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Next 100 Castles, UNESCO World Heritage Site, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	Bus stop Harajomae
Hours	Grounds are open year round
Time Required	2 hours
URL	Castle Website
Location	Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture
Coordinates	32.62904, 130.25416
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	Furinkazan
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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