Shimabara City, which owns Shimabara Castle, is located on the skirts of Mt. Unzen. If you walk around the city area, you will notice the particular geography. The hill called Moritake, where Shimabara Castle was built, was created by the explosion of Mt. Mayuyama about 4,000 years ago. You can feel the power of nature there. If you also walk around the castle, it conserved its appearance with the great stone walls surrounded by the Inner Moat and some restored castle buildings. In particular, the high stone walls remain in good condition, so you can see the line of the walls is folded like a folding screen. The castle may be compact, but strongly built, looking like a battleship.
walking on the slope of the skirt from the city area to the castleThe remaining high stone wallsShimabara Castle looks like a battleship
Collaboration of remaining Stone Walls and rebuilt Buildings
The area inside the original Inner Moat, including the Main and Second Enclosures, is designated as a historic site by Nagasaki Prefecture and is developed as a historical park. If you drive to the castle site, you can easily enter the Main Enclosure by crossing the earthen bridge, built in the present time, and park inside it.
The aerial photo around the castle
The entrance of the Main EnclosureThe inside of the Main Enclosure
Great View from rebuilt high Main Tower
The rebuilt five-level Main Tower stands out with its 33-meter height, the third tallest existing Main Tower in Japan. It is actually a modern building used as a museum and observation platform. Inside the tower, you can learn more about the history of the castle and the Shimabara Rebellion. On the top floor, you can enjoy see a great 360-degree view of the city. For example, Mt. Aso on Kyushu Island over Ariake Sea in the east. The Main, Second and Third Enclosures form in a line in the north. You can also see Mt. Mayuyama with Mt. Unzen behind it in the west.
The rebuilt Main TowerA view of the eastern side from the towerA view of the northern side from the towerA view of the western side from the tower
Exhibition of rebuilt Turret
The Main Enclosure has more attractions. The three rebuilt turrets also have distinct exhibitions. For example, one of the turrets, called Tatsumi Turret, is used as an art gallery dedicated to a local famous sculptor, Seibo Kitamura. You can see his representative statue works such as the Peace Statue (the reduced version of that in Nagasaki Peace Park) inside. You can even see his other works outside such as the statues of Shiro Amakusa, who led the Shimabara Rebellion, and a young Nobunaga Oda, who was a great warlord in central Japan.
Going to the rebuilt Tatsumi TurretThe Peace StatueThe statue of Shiro AmakusaThe statue of young Nobunaga Oda
Today, the ruins of Hara Castle are still large with a perimeter of about 4km. The Main Enclosure has mainly been public owned and developed for visitors. The many other areas of the ruins, including the Second and Third Enclosures, are private owned and used as fields. If you walk around and look over the ruins, you can find the large hills and valleys and picture the castle remains. Generally, enclosures of many castles in Japan usually worked closely with each other. However, looking at the enclosures of Hara Castle, they seemed to work independently like a modern fortress. This may be the reason why that the uprising army fought had as equals with the shogunate.
The Main Enclosure has been developed as a historic siteThe Second and Third Enclosures have become fieldsThe extensive castle ruinsLooking up the ruins from the bottom of a valley
Walking around Second and Third Enclosures
If you drive to the ruins, you will park at the parking lot between the Second and Third Enclosures beside the sea. You will have to walk for about 800m from the parking lot to the Main Enclosure. During the walk, you can see how large the castle was. If you turn right at the first intersection after passing the ruins of the Main Gate, you will reach the monument of Shigemasa Itakura at the Third Enclosure. He was shot and killed here in the first phase of the Shimabara Rebellion.
The map around the castle
The parking lot for visitorsThe ruins of the Main GateThe first intersection from the parking lot to the Main EnclosureThe Third EnclosureThe monument of Shigemasa Itakura
Going back to the route leading to the Main Enclosure, you will see the spacious Second Enclosure on the left and its Barbican on the right. Locals say the bones of as many as 20,000 uprising people are still buried under the fields.
The route around the Second EnclosureThe Second EnclosureThe Second Enclosure Barbican is the right side of the valley
One of the Greatest Main Enclosure Entrances
As you approach the Main Enclosure, you will see its great stone walls still surrounding it. However, they were to be excavated after being almost buried by the shogunate. Even historians did not expect the castle had to have such great stone walls. Of course, the stone walls were much higher before the destruction.
The map around the Main Enclosure, the red line shows the estimated route in the entrance
Approaching the Main EnclosureThe stone walls of the Main Enclosure, which were discovered by the excavation
Its entrance, called Koguchi, was also excavated and has been developed for visitors. In fact, this is where the bones of the killed uprising people, which were buried with the stone walls, were found. It had large connected square spaces, called Masugata, forming a maze protecting the entrance. Historians speculate that visitors in the past had to turn 5 to 10 times in the entrance to enter the enclosure. The excavation discovered that the Koguchi entrance of Hara Castle was one of the largest examples of those ever found in Japan.
The excavated Koguchi entranceThe replica of the excavation site, exhibited by Arima Christian Heritage MuseumThe ruins of the Uzumi-mon Gate inside the entrance
Inside of Main Enclosure has become Square
The inside of the Main Enclosure is basically a square now. There are the ruins of the Main Enclosure Gate, the Turret base, and the Ikejiri-guchi Gate along the perimeter. There are also the monument of the Shimabara Rebellion, the statue of Shiro Amakusa, and so on. This enclosure stands on the steep cliff by the sea, so you can enjoy a great view of Ariake Sea, and Mt. Unzen in the distance.
The ruins of the Main Enclosure GateThe inside of the Main EnclosureThe Turret baseThe ruins of the Ikejiri-guchi GateThe statue of Shiro AmakusaA view of Ariake Sea from the Main EnclosureA view of the ruins and Mt. Unzen from the Main Enclosure
Hara Castle is known as the place where the Shimabara Rebellion was stopped in 1638. The castle was built near the edge of Shimabara Peninsula, in the western part of the Kyushu Region. The Arima Clan, one of the warlords in the region, first built the castle at the end of 15th Century. Harunobu Arima, the lord of the clan in the late 16th Century, was known as a Christian feudal lord. The Shimabara Peninsula possessed an international trade port called Kuchinotsu Port where Portuguese missionaries started to work in 1563. Christianity spread around the peninsula greatly and the area also prospered from trading. Harunobu originally lived in Hinoe Castle which the clan built many years ago. He renovated Hara Castle at the beginning of the 17th Century, probably as his new home base. However, he was punished by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1612 before he moved to the castle. His son was also transferred to another place in 1614.
The location of the castle
The replica of the statue of Harunobu Arima, exhibited by Arima Christian Heritage Museum, the original statue is owned by Daiunji TempleThe present Kuchinotsu PortThe statue of Father Valignano who came to Kuchinotsu to spread Christianity
Castle uses Natural Terrain and has Great Stone Walls
Hara Castle was built on several hills alongside Ariake Sea. The Main, Second and Third Enclosures were on different hills. These hills were by the sea with natural steep cliffs. They were divided by large and deep dry moats using the natural terrain as well. The side of the castle facing the land had a swamp. Overall, the castle could be very defensive. In particular, the Main Enclosure was all surrounded by stone walls. Its entrance, called Koguchi, was very large and had a zigzagging route using huge ornate stones. There was the Main Tower or a large turret inside the enclosure. These structures were thought to show the castle’s lord’s authority. The Second and Third Enclosures were made of soil and were probably used as warriors’ houses. The Matsukura Clan following the Arima Clan didn’t use Hara Castle and built a new castle, called Shimabara Castle, as their home base. Hara Castle was once abandoned in 1615, but at least its foundation, including the stone walls, remained.
A bird’s-eye view of the castle ruins, from the signboard at the site
The relief map around the castle
The remaining stone walls at the Main EnclosureShimabara Castle
Shimabara Rebellion happens due to Matsukura Clan’s oppression
The Matsukura Clan oppressed the farmers and Christians in their territory. Being Christian had not been allowed by the Tokugawa Shogunate since 1612. 1n 1637, the people in Shimabara Peninsula, together with the people in Amakusa Islands over Ariake Sea who were in the same situation, rebelled against the Matsukura Clan and the shogunate. They were officially led by a charismatic Christian boy, Shiro Amakusa, but actually guided by the masterless warriors, called Ronin, who were former retainers of the Arima Clan and other Clans. They first attacked Matsukura’s home base, Shimabara Castle, but failed. Then, they decided to be besieged in Hara Castle by themselves after they repaired it. Historians believe that they were waiting for reinforcements from Christians from other areas of Japan and Catholic countries like Portugal.
The imaginary portrait of Shiro Amakusa, owned by Shimabara Castle Christian Museum, from the exhibition of Arima Christian Heritage MuseumThe flag from Shiro Amakusa’s encampment, owned by Amakusa Christian Museum, from the exhibition of Arima Christian Heritage Museum
Annihilation of rebellion after 3-month siege
The siege started with about 37,000 defenders including women and children in December 1637. The troops from the shogunate first assaulted the castle but failed. Even the commander of the shogunate, Shigemasa Itakura was killed by a shot from the castle, as the counterattacks were professionally instructed and the castle was strong. The shogunate changed its tactics to encircle the castle with over 120,000 soldiers. The siege lasted for nearly 3 months, however, the reinforcements for the uprising army didn’t come. At the end of February 1638, the shogunate attacked the castle in full force when the defenders ran out of food. The castle fell and the rebellion was annihilated.
The portrait of Shigemasa Itakura, owned by Itakura Studying the Past Association (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)One of the georamas of Shimabara Rebellion, exhibited by Arima Christian Heritage Museum
The survivors of the uprising army’s fate was extremely severe. Almost all of them, except for some runaways, were killed. It is said that many of the Christians hoped to be killed as martyrs. Hara Castle was completely destroyed and buried by the shogunate. The corpses of the executed people were also buried with the castle. The lord of the area, Katsuie Matsukura was executed due to his misgovernment. Shimabara Rebellion was one of the greatest tragedies and had a big impact on Japanese history. This incident accelerated the policy of the national isolation of Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Part of the folding screens of Shimabara Rebellion, owned by Asakura City Akizuki Museum, from the exhibition of Arima Christian Heritage Museum
