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Kumamoto Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and extremely well-fortified castle. The castle tower (tenshukaku) is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings of the original castle remain. Kumamoto Castle is considered one of the three premier castles in Japan, along with Himeji Castle and Matsumoto Castle. Thirteen structures in the castle complex are designated Important Cultural Properties. Kumamoto Castle was ranked number one in the "castle you want to visit again” ranking for Trip Advisor, Japan in 2013.
The Main Towers
The area around the main towers and the Hon-Maru Goten was destroyed by a fire which lasted three days, before the start of the Seinan Rebellion. The cause of the fire is unknown. The present main towers were rebuilt in 1960 to restore the castle's exterior. The larger main tower has 6 stories with a basement and rises roughly 30 meters above the stone fence, and the smaller main tower consists of 4 stories with a basement, and is roughly 19 meters in height. Exhibitions and historical relics of the two ruling feudal families, the Katos and the Hosokawas as well as of the Seinan Rebellion are housed in the tower buildings.