Castle’s open restoration becomes tourist draw
KUMAMOTO • Japan’s Kumamoto Castle, which was heavily damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, has been getting more and more visitors thanks to its “observable restoration,” which is expected to last decades.
In fiscal 2023, the number of visitors reached 1.35 million people, about 350,000 more than the previous year and recovering to nearly 80 per cent of the pre-quake level. Eight years after the earthquake that devastated the prefecture, an official involved in the restoration said, “We hope people will keep being interested in the region.”
The Kumamoto municipal government has begun special openings of the castle’s Uto-yagura tower, which is still under restoration work.
Uto-yagura is designated as a nationally important cultural property. It is said to have been built in the Keicho era (1596-1615), when Kumamoto Castle was originally constructed. The tower is also called the third keep of the castle after the main keep and its attached smaller keep. Uto-yagura is a five-storey building above ground with a basement level. In the earthquake, it suffered damage in more than 40 locations, including broken pillars and damaged outer walls. While the tower escaped total destruction, the entire structure was tilted. In January, dismantling work, and restoration work is scheduled to be completed in fiscal 2032. The municipal government has begun to allow visitors inside the scaffolding on the second Sunday of every month.
“We hope that visitors will look closely at things like the collapsed walls, cracked kawara tiles and the current state of the tower, which you can see only now,” said Yasuhiro Iwasa, the chief official responsible for restoration at the municipal Kumamoto Castle General Office. “We will continue efforts to deepen people’s understanding of the restoration process while passing along records of the damage done.”
Thirteen of Kumamoto Castle’s structures are nationally important cultural properties, and all were either damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. Twenty structures, including the main keep, were reconstructed in later periods and were also affected by the earthquake. The castle’s stone walls are known for their “Mushagaeshi” (warrior-repelling) structure that gradually grows steeper higher up the walls. Nearly 10 per cent of the walls, about 8,200 square metres, collapsed in the earthquake.
The main keep’s repair work was done first and completed in 2021, as a symbol of the restoration. However, the entire castle is not expected to be fully restored until fiscal 2052, with just over 20 per cent of the scheduled work having been completed by the end of March 2022.
As entry to the castle is restricted due to the restoration work, a special observation path was built and has played a major part in the tourism revival. The five- to sevenmetre-high elevated path was built in 2020, allowing visitors to observe the conditions up close without interrupting restoration work or blocking construction vehicles.