Video Report of Eto NoriyukiーThis is great, please visit the “Sakura and Kumamoto Castle” castle-in Japan.「日本一の名城・熊本城と桜」(3/28).

Video  Report of Eto Noriyuki
 江藤則幸の「動画レポート」

　It’s Friday, March, 28 and most of the cherry blossoms in Kumamoto Castle are in full bloom now. Let’s enter the castle and enjoy them.

Kiyomasa Kato began to construct the castle in 1601 and completed it in 1607.

Kumamoto Castle and its grounds has an area of 980,000 ㎡ and its outer perimeter extended to 5.3 ｋｍ. The strong and graceful walls of the foundations were built in the Kiyomasa style.

 There are castle keeps (Tenshukaku) of varying sizes,49 towers and storehouses (Yagura), 18 tower gates

(Yagura-mon) and 29 castle gates.

Follwing the Kato clan the Hosokawa clan took over the governing the city in 1632 and continued
to do so for around 200 years up until the Meiji Restration.

 Unfortunately the castle keeps (Tenshukaku), Honmarugoten

as well as many towers and gates were burnt out by an

accidental fire just before the Seinan Conflict in １８７７. Since then the castle
keep was rebuilt and the Honmarugoten was repaired to the original configurations in 1988.

  Kumamoto Castle is located in the center of Kumamoto City in Kyusyu islands.

　今日は３月２８日の金曜日です。これから桜の花がほぼ満開になった熊本城を散策したいと思います。
　熊本城は加藤清正が慶長６年（１６０１）から茶臼山（現在の天守閣一帯）を中心に築城に着手し、慶長１２年
（１６０７）に完成させたものです。

　築城の名手、清正が心魂を傾けた熊本城は面積９８万㎡、周囲５．３ｋｍで清正流と呼ばれる優美剛健な石垣を築き上げ、

大小天守閣のほか櫓４９、櫓門１８、城門２９を構えています。

加藤家改易の後、寛永９年（１６３２）からはは明治維新に至るまで細川氏が城主を務めました。

明治１０年（１８７７）西南戦争３日前に天守閣、本丸御殿一帯は原因不明の出火で焼失しました。その後、昭和３５年に天守閣

が復元され、さらに平成１０年（１９９８）からの熊本城復元整備計画によって本丸御殿などが創建当時の姿を再び現しました。