Kumamoto

In 1550, Sourin Otomo destroyed the original castle here in Kumamoto. Later, the castle was rebuilt, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi destroyed it. He then placed the castle in Narimasa Sassa's rule, but he killed himself in April 1588, and then Kato Kiyomasa (1562-1611) became lord of the castle. He was very loyal to the Toyotomi family. Kiyomasa thought that the castle was not large enough, so he built another castle from 1601 to 1607. He then named his newly built pride the Kumamoto.

In 1608, a smaller tenshu for the Kumamoto was built and included a room with tokonoma and tsukeshoin, (probably for receiving the shogun). Though this room existed, other numerous residential areas were around the castle grounds and the tenshu was used largely for emergencies.

During the Meiji Period, on February 19 1877, the Satsuma Rebellion destroyed the main and side towers. The tenshu was rebuilt in 1960, though.