Page 274 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

q Dominating the center of the The family possessions of the
powerful Kato and Hosokawa
city from an imposing hill,
Kumamoto Kumamoto Castle was con- clans can be found near the
熊本 structed on the orders of Kato castle in the Kumamoto
Kiyomasa, a warrior who Prefectural Art Museum, a
! A6 ⌂ Kumamoto fought alongside Tokugawa distinctive modern building
Prefecture k £ n www.
kumamoto-guide.jp/en Ieyasu at the decisive Battle with a pleasant tearoom. The
of Sekigahara in 1600. He was museum also has interesting
replicas of ancient burial
Kumamoto was an important
rewarded for his loyalty with
EXPERIENCE Kyushu Tokugawa shogunate (1603– of present-day Kumamoto. finds from the region.
mounds and archaeo logical
lands en compassing most
seat of power during the
1868). Its star attraction, one
Kumamoto is renowned
The castle was com pleted in
1607. Unlike more decorative
of the largest castles in Japan,
for its crafts, especially
dates from this period. The
damascene inlay designs,
castles such as Himeji (p224),
Kumamoto’s citadel is rigor-
Amakusa pearls, and Yamage
city’s main shopping precinct
ously martial in appearance,
and sights are compressed
with steep, almost impregnable from gold paper, are a feature
into an area south of the castle.
The longevity of Kumamoto’s walls. The original structure lanterns. These lanterns, made
of the city’s festival in August.
residents (the city has several had 49 towers and 29 gates, The Kumamoto Traditional
centenarians) is ascribed to a but it was almost completely Crafts Center has a good
passion for living and a healthy destroyed during the Satsuma selection of these local crafts.
diet. The latter includes karashi Rebellion in 1877. Al though
renkon (deep-fried lotus root the main keep was recon- Kumamoto Castle
stuffed with mustard miso) structed on a smaller scale " ⌂ 1-1 Hommaru ¢ For
and various brands of sake in 1960, it is a highly effective restoration ∑ kumamoto-
made from water supposedly replica, successfully evoking guide.jp/kumamoto-castle/
purified by the area’s rich the fearsome magnificence of en/spot
volcanic soil. the original. Due to damage
from the 2016 earthquake, Gyobu-tei
the castle is currently closed, " ⌂ 3-1 Furugyocho
HIDDEN GEM but the imposing structure § (096) 352-6522
World in can still be viewed from ¢ Until further notice
Miniature the outside, and there is a
Kumamoto’s Suizen-ji reconstruction tour route. Kumamoto Prefectural
Jou-en Garden recreates Gyobu-tei, an 18th-century Art Museum
the 53 post stations – residence once owned by the " ⌂ 2 Ninomaru § (096)
including Mount Fuji powerful Hosokawa clan, is 352-2111 # 9:30am–5:15pm
and Lake Biwa – of the located a little northwest of Tue–Sun
old Tokaido Highway, the castle grounds. It presents
the road that connected insights into the way the Kumamoto Traditional
Edo with Kyoto during feudal elite lived during the Crafts Center
the Edo Period (8-1 Edo period. This building also " ⌂ 3-35 Chibajomachi
Suizenjikoen). suffered serious damage in § (096) 324-4930
2016 and is currently closed. # 9am–5pm Tue–Sun

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