Usuki Castle

History

Otomo Sourin moved from his palace in Funai and built Usuki Castle in 1562. Otomo was one of the strongest lords in Kyushu and controlled a large portion of the island. Hideyoshi started his Kyushu Campaigns in 1587 and with support from Otomo quickly took control of all of Kyushu. Otomo was replaced by Ota Kazuyoshi and Ota was replaced by Inaba Sadamichi from Gujo Hachiman Castle after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The Inaba continued to rule until the Meiji Period.

Visit Notes

A replica of the kunikuzushi "country destroyer" canon can be seen on the castle grounds today. Supposedly, the kunikuzushi canon was imported from Portugal and used by the Otomo against the Shimazu

Gallery

Otemon Gate
Otemon Gate
Entrance to the castle
yaguramon gate and Tatamiyagura
Otemon Gate
Tatamiyagura and Otemon Gate
Map
Utonoguchi-mon-wakiyagura
Utonoguchi-mon-wakiyagura
Replica of the Kunikuzushi Cannon

Castle Profile
English Name	Usuki Castle
Japanese Name	臼杵城
Alternate Names	Kijo
Founder	Otomo Sourin (Yoshishige)
Year Founded	1562
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	No main keep but other buildings
Designations	Next 100 Castles, Prefectural Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	gates, turrets, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	JR Usuki Sta. (Nippo Line), 10 min walk
Visitor Information	no entrance fees
Time Required	An hour or less
Website	http://www.visit-oita.jp/feature/2011 autumn/usuki.html
Location	Usuki, Oita Prefecture
Coordinates	33° 7' 18.59" N, 131° 48' 14.76" E
Loading map... {"type":"TERRAIN","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps","width":"auto","height":"200px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"Castlemarker.png","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":6,"layers":[],"controls":[""],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":33.121830555556,"lon":131.8041,"icon":"../images/1/1e/Castlemarker.png"}]}
Admin
Added to Jcastle	2012
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

2.33

(3 votes)

Enable comment auto-refresher

Matthew WardGunshi

15 months ago

Score 0

Apparently the Tatami Yagura and Utanoguchi-mon-Yagura are originals.

Permalink | Reply

FurinkazanDaimyo

138 months ago

Score 0

I didn't expected alot of this site, but i was surprized to see alot of informationpanels around the site, even in english. It's a nice little park to go to and it isn't far from the station. There is another reconstructed tower, the Utonoguchi-mon-wakiyagura. This is at the other end of the castle-grounds than the other reconstructed towers. I'll send photos of it when i'll be back at home. This is a site to visit when you're in the area.

Permalink | Reply