Possibly due to its reputation as one of Japan’s most heavily fortified castles, Kumamoto Castle was only attacked once: in the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 where a contingent of just 3,800 government soldiers withstood a siege of over 13,000 rebel fighters. The soldiers survived the siege but the castle itself did not escape unscathed, unfortunately, as a fire broke out during the rebellion that burned down the much of the castle’s original wooden structures. The current keeps are reconstructions built in 1960.

The first floor is the largest floor and explores the era during which Kato Kiyomasa designed and built Kumamoto Castle. Exhibits explain the architectural experience of Kato Kiyomasa and the reasons behind the design of Kumamoto Castle.

Having fought in Korea and numerous areas throughout Japan, Kiyomasa’s experience on the battlefield informed his design for Kumamoto Castle, with the result being a fortress that is easily defended while also being supremely resistant to sieges. To see examples of the defensive tactics employed, try the Penetrate Castle Defense Challenge game and see if you can infiltrate the keep unscathed. (Spoiler alert: you’re dead no matter which path you take!)

The first floor also houses a 1:10 scale model of the keeps that was built in the 1950s as preparation for the 1960 reconstruction. 

Even the foundation stones are to the original!

The first floor is the largest exhibit area within the keeps, so be sure to spend plenty of time here learning all the secrets of Kumamoto Castle.

The Hosokawa family were assigned to rule Kumamoto Castle following the reign of Kiyomasa’s son Tadahiro, beginning in 1632. The Hosokawas would reign in Kumamoto for the next 239 years, and the second floor of the keeps takes a closer look into this period of history.

The main attraction on this floor is a stunning miniature reproduction of historical Kumamoto Castle and the surrounding castle town area, cleverly explained using projection mapping and narration.

Up another flight of stairs and you’ll find yourself in the Modern Era. This section focuses on the period following the Meiji Restoration in 1868 up until the reconstruction of the keeps in 1960.

A large proportion of the exhibits cover the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. This was Japan’s last civil war and pitted the modernization-minded Imperial troops against an army of samurai rebels stationed in southern Kyushu (modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture). It also inspired the story behind the Tom Cruise movie The Last Samurai.

Much of the castle burned down in the Satsuma Rebellion, and you’ll find relics of the burned castle on display along with an exhibit explaining the story behind the rebuilding of the keeps.

Up some more steps and you’re at the fourth floor, bringing us to the contemporary era and marking the last of the exhibit floors. This floor showcases the damage suffered in the 2016 earthquakes and the ongoing reconstruction efforts. 

Once you’re done here, head up the stairs to the fifth floor (which is just for transferring between elevators) and go straight up to the sixth and top floor of the main keep.

And now we’ve finally arrived at the top of the main keep of Kumamoto Castle! Big windows offer 360° views over downtown Kumamoto City. You can see Mt. Kinbo looming to the west and, on a clear day, the smoky peaks of volcanic Mt. Aso are visible far to the east. 

Take a close-up look at the Sho-Tenshu as well as some of the roof tile detailing out of the windows to the north.

To the south is the raised walkway that leads to the keep plaza.

Take a close look on the lower windows, and you’ll notice these stickers:

This is where your Kumamoto Castle app comes in handy again. Take out your phone, start up the app, and select “Scan AR marker.” Once you scan the marker, the real-life landscape is overlaid with actual photographs taken from the same spot in the late 19^th century.

Without AR:

With AR:

Pretty neat, right?

The keep also offers a near-bird’s-eye-view of some of the reconstruction, so see if you can find some of the many wall stone storage yards where workers are at work carefully cataloguing the fallen wall stones to find out where exactly they were located before the earthquakes. Because the stone walls of Kumamoto Castle are designated as a National Special Historic Site, they must be rebuilt as close as possible to how they were arranged prior to the earthquakes, making the job of rebuilding the walls one of the most difficult jigsaw puzzles in history.

Once you’ve had a good look around, take the stairs all the way back down the way you came and head to the exit.

So that about does it for our trip to the Kumamoto Castle Keeps! Be sure to pick up some tasty soft serve at Josaien on your way back! I only touched on a small fraction of all the cool exhibits and informative videos on display at the castle, so be sure to stop by on your next visit to Kumamoto! And while you’re around, maybe you can pick up a tasty sandwich to eat during your visit and be sure to check out some of the cool Kamitori bars in downtown Kumamoto!