Fukuyama Castle

Right next to the train station, Fukuyama Castle has become one of the must-see castles of Western Japan. While the main keep is a reconstruction, it is a very good reconstruction in terms of outside appearance. The museum inside is very engaging for castle and history fans alike. In recent years,

History

In 1619, Mizuno Katsunari, a cousin of Tokugawa Ieyasu, was the first of the Tokugawa hereditary vassals (fudai daimyo) to be stationed in the Chuugoku region. He was placed here at Fukuyama to be just between the non-hereditary vassals (tozama daimyo) in Hiroshima and Okayama. He received great support from the Tokugawa in the form of money, materials and buildings transferred from Fushimi Castle (the Fushimi Yagura and Sujigane Gate survive today) to build this rather large and strong castle (23 yagura and 10 gates) quickly. It shows the importance Tokugawa placed on showing his strength to these tozama daimyo. The castle was completed in 1622.

The iron plating was added to the north side of the castle because it was the most vulnerable. There is no moat on this side and it was presumed that any attack would come from the north. Sure enough, the Choshu forces did attack from the north and were stopped around the area of a shrine, now called the Abe Shrine. The Akamon, or Red Gate, still has a bullet hole in it from the attack.

Fukuyama Castle was one of the greatest castles of the Edo Period. Many buildings survived the Meiji Restoration, but were mostly destroyed in the air raids of 1945. Only the Fushimi Yagura and Sujigane Gate survived.

Field Notes

Right next to the train station, Fukuyama Castle has become one of the must-see castles of Western Japan. While the main keep is a reconstruction, it is a very good reconstruction in terms of outside appearance. The museum inside is very engaging for castle and history fans alike. In recent years, they plated the north side of the keep with iron plates as it originally was and cleaned up the site by removing many of the trees that blocked your view of the yagura and main keep.

The original Fushimi Yagura, Sujigane Gate, Bell Tower and reconstructed Inui yagura provide many photogenic angles combined with the multiple layers of well preserved stone walls. If you visit, plan some time to take great photos from the shinkansen platform windows too! For the castle fan that wants to add a little extra to the trip, there are a few places around town with the remains of stone walls and there is even a gate from a former samurai residence. You can check out these extras with a map in the album Castle Town.

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Gallery

Fushimi Yagura

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Castle Profile
English Name	Fukuyama Castle
Japanese Name	福山城
Alternate Names	Hisamatsu-jo, Iyoo-jo
Founder	Mizuno Katsunari
Year Founded	1622
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Reconstructed main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	5 levels, 6 stories
Year Reconstructed	1966 (concrete)
Artifacts	Fushimi Yagura, Sujigane Gate
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Fukuyama Sta. (San'yo line); 2 minute walk
Hours	Museum open 9am-5pm; Closed Mondays except holidays (close the following day)
Time Required	120 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture
Coordinates	34.49103, 133.36112
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2006
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2009, 2023
Admin Visits	November 14, 2009; June 8, 2023
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