Fukuyama Castle

Fukuyama Castle is located at a hill in the center of Fukuyama city. Prior to the Edo Period, this area was a large tidal flat. The Sanyōdō highway, which connects the Kinai region with Kyushu, ran to the north of the modern city center, and Tomonoura, a port on the Seto Inland Sea from the Heian period, was to the south. The main power center for Bingo Province was at Kannabe Castle to the northeast. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600,Fukushima Masanori was awarded control of both Aki Province and Bingo Province; however, in 1619, the Tokugawa shogunate used the pretext that he had made repairs to Hiroshima Castle without permission to seize a portion of his domain, awarding a 100,000 koku portion of Bingo Province to Tokugawa Ieyasu's cousin, Mizuno Katsunari.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jcastle.info/view/Fukuyama_Castle|title=Fukuyama Castle|website=JCastle|access-date=6 September 2018}} Katsunari had an outstanding military record and it was expected that he would act as a bulwark on the Sanyōdō highway against possible rebellion by the powerful tozama daimyō of western Japan, such as the Mōri clan. Mizuno found that Kannabe Castle was located in a narrow mountain valley and was inconvenient both to manage his domain and to defend against attack, some received a special exception from the shogunate's "one domain - one castle" rule to build a new castle and castle town on reclaimed land. Construction started in 1619 and was completed in 1622.{{Cite web|url=https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3433.html|title=Fukuyama Castle|date=2018|website=Japan Travel|access-date=6 September 2018}}

The new Fukuyama Castle occupied a hill with a length of 400 meters and width of 200 meters. The inner bailey occupies the southern half of the hill, and contains a five-story tenshu at its northern edge. The southern edge was protected by two yagura turrets.The Fushimi yagura was a white three-story structure transferred from abolished Fushimi Castle in Kyoto. The Tsukumi yagura has a red handrail balcony. Between these two yagura is the main gate of the castle, also transferred from Fushimi Castle.

The secondary bailey occupied the north half of the hill, and outer bailey surrounded south half of the hill. Fukuyama Castle had seven three-story yagura and 15 smaller yagura, and tall stone walls, and was surrounded by water moats, connected by canal to the Seto Inland Sea.

The Mizuno clan was replaced by the Abe clan was rulers of Fukuyama Domain in 1698 and governed to the Meiji restoration. Although the various Abe daimyō played important political roles in the administration of the shogunate, they seldom visited the domain in person. During the Boshin War, Fukuyama Castle was attacked by the Chōshū army in January 1868, but the domain defected to the Imperial side and the castle was spared destruction.

After the Meiji Restoration, most of the buildings except for the tenshu and a number of yagura were demolished. The castle grounds became a public park. In 1931, the tenshu was designed a "National Treasure" under the former Cultural Properties Protection Law. However, the tenshu burned down during World War II. Much of outer areas of the castle grounds disappeared due to the construction of railways and urban development.{{Cite book|title=Samurai Castles: History, Architecture, Visitors' Guide|last1=Mitchelhill|first1=Jennifer|last2=Green|first2=David|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|year=2018|isbn=978-4805313879|location=Rutland, Vermont|pages=18}} Fukuyama Station was built directly adjacent to the inner bailey of the castle and the tenshu can be seen clearly from its platforms.

In 1947, the Fukuyama Industrial Exposition is held at the ruins of Fukuyama Castle. In 1950, the surviving Fushimi Yagura and Sugitetsu Gomon were designated National Important Cultural Properties.{{cite web|url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3145|title=福山城伏見櫓 |work=Cultural Heritage Online|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs|language=Japanese|accessdate=25 December 2022}} {{cite web|url=https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3146|title=福山城伏筋鉄御門 |work=Cultural Heritage Online|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs|language=Japanese|accessdate=25 December 2022}} The tenshu was rebuilt in 1966 along with the Tsukumi yagura. In 1973, the Kagami yagura was reconstructed, and the bell tower in 1979. The Fukushima Museum of Art opened on the site of the west outer moat in 1988 and the Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History on the ruins of the Sannomaru enclosure in 1989.

File:Fukuyama castle the keep.jpg|Tenshu

File:Fukuyama castle04s2010.jpg|Tenshu, seen from the side.

File:Fukuyama Castle oldphoto southeast side.jpg|Panorama of the castle in 1873.

File:Fushimi yagura of Fukuyama Castle in 1934.jpg|Fushimi Yagura (ICP) in 1934.

File:Fukuyama castle05s2048.jpg|Sujigane Gate (ICP)

File:Fukuyama castle11s2040.jpg|Bathhouse (Yudono).

File:Fukuyama castle09s2048.jpg|Kane Yagura.

File:Fukuyama castle Honmaru.jpg|Inner Bailey

• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Hiroshima)

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |title=Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace | last=Benesch |first=Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg |year=2019 |pages=374 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781108481946}}
• {{cite book |title=An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles | last=De Lange |first=William |year=2021 |pages=600 pages|publisher=Toyo Press |location=Groningen |isbn=978-9492722300}}
• {{cite book| title=Castles in Japan| last=Schmorleitz| first=Morton S.| date=1974| publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Co.| location=Tokyo| isbn=0-8048-1102-4| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Fukuyama Castle (Bingo)|Fukuyama Castle}}
• [https://fukuyamajo.jp/en/ Fukuyama Castle Museum]

{{100 Fine Castles of Japan}}

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Category:Castles in Hiroshima Prefecture

Category:Fukuyama, Hiroshima

Category:Buildings and structures in Japan destroyed during World War II

Category:Important Cultural Properties of Japan

Category:Historic Sites of Japan

Category:Bingo Province

Category:1622 establishments in Japan