Later History
After the incident in 1871, Kurume Castle was abandoned. All the buildings of the castle were demolished or sold. Even the stone walls of the Main Enclosure were sold and about to be taken out. However, local volunteers were worried and bought them back. That’s why we can still see the great stone walls as the castle ruins. As a result, the Sasayama Shrine was established in the Main Enclosure in 1877. The ruins have been a Prefectural Historic Site of the Fukuoka Prefecture since 1983.
My Impression
Let me tell you about the other attractions in other places related to the Kurume Domain. The lord of the domain, like the others, possessed two residences, one in Kurume and one in Edo. The Suitengu Shrine was transferred from Kurume to the main residence in Edo. The shrine was open to the public and became very popular. This practice was rare at that time. Since then, the shrine has been a popular attraction in Tokyo.
Yoriyasu Arima, the 15th lord of the clan, promoted sports such as horse race and professional baseball in the 20th Century. A major horse race in Japan called Arima Kinen was named after his contribution.
How to get There
If you want to visit the ruins by car, it is a few minutes away from Kurume IC on the Kyushu Expressway.
You can park in the parking lots for visitors below the eastern side of the Main Enclosure. That space used to be the Mikan-maru or the Mandarin Enclosure.
If you want to use public transportation, it takes about 20 minutes on foot from the Kurume Station.
To get to Kurume Station from Tokyo or Osaka:Take the Sanyo Shinkansen super express or fly to Hakata Station and from there take the Kyushu Shinkansen super express or the limited express.
That’s all. Thank you.
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