Tsurumaru castle

The former site of the main gates to Tsurumaru castle, with the Reimeikan visible in the background

• Type: Flatland-Mountain
• Built: 1602-1606, Shimazu Iehisa
• Destroyed: 1874
• Location: Kagoshima, Satsuma province
• Other Names: 鹿児島城 (Kagoshima-jou)
• Japanese: 鶴丸城 (Tsurumaru-jou)

Tsurumaru castle, also known as Kagoshima castle, was the chief castle of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma han. It sat up against Mt. Shiroyama, facing out towards the castle town, beyond which lay the sea.

The castle was distinctive for its lack of a tenshu or tower keep, and was constructed in a style known as yakata-zukuri, combining some of the defensive elements of a castle with the architectural layout of a residential mansion.

Today, the Reimeikan Museum of History and Culture occupies the former honmaru (central/main area) of the former castle grounds, while the Kagoshima Prefectural Library sits in the former ninomaru (second area).

Links

• Reimeikan - history museum located on the former site of the castle's honmaru
• Photos
• Kagoshima castle on Google Maps

References

• Nihon no Meijo