Tanaka Castle (Kumamoto)

The site has several baileys. Some of them were well overgrown in October. Not far from the castle site is the Tanaka Minimuseum. It's in a classroom of the fromer local school. It's free to enter from 10:00 to 16:00,; closed on Tuesdays. I highly recommend a visit to this little museum. There are s

History

The first reference to the castle is in a text from about 1200, when the daughter of a member of the Kurogi family is said to be married tot the lord of Wani castle. The castle is best remembered for its role during the 1587 Higo rebellion. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Kyushu, and the submission of Shimazu clan, several lower lords rebelled against the newly appointed daimyo, Sasa Narimasa. They withstood a siege during 2 months with 900 men against 10000. The castle was destroyed after the siege. The siege is well documented and a battle map of it has been discovered. It's the oldest surviving battle map of Japan.

Field Notes

The site has several baileys. Some of them were well overgrown in October. Not far from the castle site is the Tanaka Minimuseum. It's in a classroom of the fromer local school. It's free to enter from 10:00 to 16:00,; closed on Tuesdays. I highly recommend a visit to this little museum. There are some small artifacts, but the animated 3D model of the siege of the castle is outstanding. The attendant called a taxi for me. She was a lovely older lady.

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Gallery

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  The Wani brothers in front of Tanaka castle
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  Explanation board on parking lot
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  The famous battle map of Tanaka castle
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  Castle site from the south-west
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  the north-western cliff of the castle
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  the north-western cliff of the castle
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  Sannoamru(third bailey) or demaru(outer bailey)
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  Position of the defending army in 1587
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  Well
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  terraced baileys
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  Path between honmaru(main bailey) and southern outer bailey
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  explanation board
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  Ninomaru(second bailey) looking towards honmaru(main bailey)
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  Ninomaru(second bailey) looking towards honmaru(main bailey)
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Castle Profile
English Name	Tanaka Castle
Japanese Name	田中城
Alternate Names	Wani Castle
Founder	Wani family
Year Founded	unknown
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features
Visitor Information
Access	20 min taxi ride from Shin-Omuta station
Hours	Grounds are open year round
Time Required	1h30min
URL	Castle Website
Location	Nagomi, Kumamoto Prefecture
Coordinates	33.07862, 130.59546
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2025
Contributor	Furinkazan
Admin Year Visited	2025

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