- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1704 · 18th century
- Location
- Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 33.3687°, 129.5575°
History
Matsura Shigenobu built the first castle on the hill from the late 16th century, but in 1613 he burned it himself to allay the Tokugawa shogunate's suspicions of his clan. Hirado was then an important port, with a Dutch trading post from 1609 to 1641 and for some years an English one too. In 1704 Matsura Takashi received the rare permission of the shogun to build a new castle, completed in 1718 on the principles of the Yamaga school of military science. The Matsura held it until the Meiji Restoration, and the main keep was rebuilt in 1962.
What to see
The rebuilt white main keep houses a museum of Matsura clan heirlooms and looks out over the Hirado Strait with its red bridge and the town below. The original Kitakoguchi gate and Tanuki turret survive, surrounded by reconstructed turrets and walls. From the castle it is an easy walk to the reconstructed Dutch trading house and churches that recall the island's Christian past.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1191029
Popularity: articles about this site in 14 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).