Japan’s famed Kumamoto Castle damaged in powerful earthquake

TOKYO – Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan’s oldest, grandest and most renowned castles, was damaged on July 28 when a powerful earthquake struck south-west Japan.

Videos showed a stone wall of the centuries-old fortified structure in Kumamoto prefecture that had partially collapsed, and rocks that had tumbled to the ground.

Kumamoto Castle was built by a general named Kato Kiyomasa and was completed in 1607. In the more than 400 years since, the castle “has set the stage for the stories of a variety of significant heroes”, according to its website.

The landmark is particularly known for the Siege of Kumamoto Castle, during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. From within the castle, 3,500 soldiers held off 13,000 members of the Satsuma Army, according to the castle’s website.

“Kumamoto Castle demonstrated, in name and reality, that it was an impregnable fortress.”

This was not the first time the historic structure was damaged in an earthquake. In 2016, after powerful earthquakes and aftershocks hit south-west Japan, sections of a stone wall around the castle collapsed into the moat.

Kumamoto Castle, described as “the symbol of Kumamoto” by the local university, continued to draw many visitors every year, including from Taiwan and around the world, even as it was still being renovated and recovering from the damage it sustained.

On July 28, the castle’s management announced on its social media account that it would close for the day. “We ask everyone to prioritise your own safety above all else in your actions,” the announcement said. NYTIMES