- Type
- Castle
- Origins
- 1608 · 17th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
- Style
- Kara-zukuri
- Architect
- Michio Fujioka
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 34.1753°, 132.1742°
History
After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 Kikkawa Hiroie, a kinsman and vassal of the Mōri clan, was granted lands at Iwakuni and began building a castle on the summit of Mount Yokoyama above a bend in the Nishiki River. The keep was completed in 1608, but as early as 1615 the castle was dismantled under the shogunate's edict allowing only one castle per province. The Kikkawa went on ruling from a residence at the foot of the mountain, and in 1673 they built the Kintai Bridge across the river to link it with the town. The present reinforced-concrete keep was built in 1962 to a design by the architectural historian Michio Fujioka, set slightly south of the original foundations.
What to see
A ropeway runs up Mount Yokoyama from Kikkō Park at its foot, reached by crossing the Kintai Bridge. The reconstructed keep has a distinctive top floor in the karazukuri style that projects beyond the storeys below, and inside it houses a museum of swords, armour and mementoes of the Kikkawa clan. The viewing deck takes in the bridge, the Nishiki River, the town and, on clear days, the Seto Inland Sea.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1156906
Popularity: articles about this site in 12 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).