Kumamoto City

The day got off to a interesting start as you read in the earlier post, but after that the day was all good. The weather couldn't of been nicer: a nice crisp fall day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Our first stop was at the Suizenji Jojuen Garden. This garden took 80 years to construct starting in 1863 and was made to mimic all the prefectures (states) of Japan with their geological significances. Mt. Fuji was the only obvious natural landmark. The garden included a very beautiful shrine dedicated to all the Daimyo (Lords) of the garden and surrounding area.

The second and most recognizable stop of the tour was of the Kumamoto Castle. Originally built in 1607 what mostly remains is not the original building after it was destroyed three days before the Seinan Civil War (1877). In 1960 the main tower (shown below) was rebuilt and in 1998 the restoration project began. The main tower is about 6 stories high and it sits in the middle of the overall castle. Next year is the 400th anniversary of the completion of the castle. All the restoration projects should be completed by then. Most likely I will be coming back to see the finished project.

The final stop of the tour was of the Kyu-Hosokawa Gyobutei of the former Hosokawa Clan. Hosokawa was the name of a powerful family in the days when the castle was built. Okitomo Gyobu built this house and it was remodeled several times to fit the ways of the samurai. In 1871 the Imperial Army took over headquarters at the castle which forced all samurai houses to be evicted out of the castle. The head of the Gyobu clan at that time moved the house and made it the primary residence of the clan. Kumamoto spent four years moving the house and restoring it to where it is now and the shape its in. This mansion seemed to be an endless maze of rooms. As we wound our way through it they were several displays on items used by actual samurais and the servants of the house.