Najima Castle

From Jcastle.info
Revision as of 16:05, 12 January 2020 by ART (talk | contribs)

Najimajou (5).JPG

History

Najima Castle was ocated on a peninsula projecting into Hakata Bay on the north of the estuary of the Tatara River. The castle consisted of the honmaru (main bailey), ninomaru (second bailey) and sannomaru (third bailey), ranging from west to east and extending over 900m. Built by Kobayakawa Takakage in the Sengoku Period, Najimajō was considered an impregnable castle. After the Battle of Sekigahara Kuroda Nagamasa was rewarded with lands in Chikuzen (in exchange for his control of six districts in Buzen) and established himself at Najimajō. However, Najimajō's positioning on a peninsula left limited room for expansion, and the site proved, whilst a nice defensible position for wartime, ill-suited to the role of administration in peacetime. So as to allow for the expansion of a castle town and a larger base of operations, Najimajō was abandoned in favour of Fukuokajō. Ishigaki was taken from the site and re-used at Fukuokajō. A gate which still exists at Fukuokajō called the Najimamon was also relocated from Najimajō. Najimajō is therefore the castle which preceded Fukuokajō. The shrine to Benzaiten was apparently here before the castle, and when Toyotomi Hideyoshi made a pilgrimage here in 1587 he ordered Kobayakawa to build a castle here - so the story goes.


Visit Notes

Only the remnants of earthworks, baileys and trace amounts of ishigaki remain. A former turret platform is discernable. Now the castle's honmaru is cleared and its lower baileys contain religious structures and some houses.




Gallery
  • Najimamon at FUKUOKA CASTLE (relocated in 1961)


Castle Profile
English Name Najima Castle
Japanese Name 名島城
Founder Kobayakawa Takakage
Year Founded Sengoku Period
Castle Type Hilltop
Castle Condition Ruins only
Historical Period Pre Edo Period
Artifacts Ishigaki (yaguradai), baileys, relocated gates
Features trenches, stone walls
Visitor Information
Access Najima Station on the Nishitetsu Kaizuka Line
Visitor Information 24/7 free
Time Required One Hour
Location Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture
Coordinates 33° 38' 45.49" N, 130° 25' 23.77" E
Loading map...
Admin
Added to Jcastle
Contributor ART
Admin Year Visited Viewer Contributed


1.50
(2 votes)
Add your comment
Jcastle.info welcomes all comments. If you do not want to be anonymous, register or log in. It is free.


avatar

ARTShogun

31 months ago
Score 0++
Added Najimamon to gallery.
avatar

ARTShogun

31 months ago
Score 0++
Have updated to yellow for relocated structures.