Hiji Castle

The buildings and ishigaki ruins can be seen from the outside all year round. In the main bailey is now the Hiji Primary school. The Kimon yagura is open from 09h00 to 17h00, closed on Mondays. The Ninomaru yakata is open from 08h30 to 17h00, no closing days. Inside the Ninomaru yakata is an informa

History

In 1601, for his service during the Sekigahara campaign, Kinoshita Nobutoshi received a 30000 koku domain in Hiji. He began immediately to build a castle and it was mostly finished in 1602. His brother-in-law, Hosokawa Tadaoki, designed the castle layout. It consisted of a main bailey, where a 3 storey donjon stood, a second and third bailey. The Kinoshita ruled over Hiji until the Meiji restoration, when the castle buildings were auctioned and dismantled.

The Uramon Tower was built to protect the rear gate on the east side of the main bailey of Hiji Castle. In 1875 it was sold to the Tokunaga family and relocated to their grounds. In 2000, the Hiji Town Board of Education took over the rear gate tower, dismantled it, and preserved it, then carried out restoration work from June 2009 to March of the following year. In 2022, the interior of the tower was renovated to be used as a coworking space.

The Kimon yagura(turret), was located on the northeast side of the main enclosure. It had a unique appearance even among Hiji Castle. Its main feature is that it is missing a corner facing the direction of evil spirits (northeast). This is thought to have been done to prevent misfortune from entering from the direction of the demon gate by removing the corners. When it was built at Hiji Castle, it is said that the corners were also missing down to the stone wall below. It escaped demolition during the Meiji period and was relocated to the Nakamura family estate in Nio, but was acquired by the Nakamura family in 2009, dismantled, surveyed and preserved. Restoration work began in 2010 and took two years to complete, with completion on March 18, 2013. Such a tower with protection against evil spirits is rare across the country and can be considered a valuable historical building.

Both turrets, now, aren't in their original locations.

The Chidokan, or domain school was built in 1858, by order of the 15th Hiji domain daimyo Kinoshita Toshinori, in the ninomaru (second bailey). With the arrival of the Meiji era, Chidokan was closed with the abolition of the Hiji Domain. Afterwards, Chidokan was converted into the Yotani Girls' School, the Hiji Branch Office of the Kitsuki Ward Court, the Hiji Town Hall, the Hoashi Memorial Library, and other facilities. In 1950, the Chidokan was dismantled in conjunction with the construction of Hiji Junior High School, and the following year, the auditorium (main building) and main gate were moved to their current location as part of the project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Banri Hoashi. Chidokan is the only remaining building of a domain school in Oita Prefecture.

Field Notes

The buildings and ishigaki ruins can be seen from the outside all year round. In the main bailey is now the Hiji Primary school. The Kimon yagura is open from 09h00 to 17h00, closed on Mondays. The Ninomaru yakata is open from 08h30 to 17h00, no closing days. Inside the Ninomaru yakata is an information office (I got several English pamphlets and the 'Hiji walk handbook'). There is also a local produts shop and eatery.

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Gallery

Kimon yagura
Kimon yagura
1st level of Kimon yagura
2nd level of Kimon yagura
Inner moat
Inner moat
Ninomaru yakata and Uramon yagura
Uramon yagura
Ninomaru yakata
Castle in 1601
Kimon yagura seen from the inner moat
Site of middle gate
Old bell on ishigaki
Ishigaki with tenshudai
Ishigaki
Ishigaki and gate ruins
Ishigaki and gate ruins
Primary school in main bailey
Tenshudai (off limits)
Ishigaki and tenshudai
Yaguradai
Inner moat and Kimon yagura
Chidokan
Chidokan
Chidokan
Chidokan

Castle Profile
English Name	Hiji Castle
Japanese Name	日出城
Alternate Names	Yokoku-jo
Founder	Kinoshita Nobutoshi
Year Founded	1602
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Historical Period	Edo Period
Artifacts	Kimon yagura; Uramon yagura
Features	turrets, trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	about 500m from JR Yokoku station
Hours	See 'field notes'
Time Required	1h30min
URL	Castle Website
Location	Hiji, Oita Prefecture
Coordinates	33.36749, 131.53147
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	Furinkazan
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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