Kokura Castle, Japanese castle in Jōnai, Kitakyūshū, Japan
Kokura Castle stands in Jōnai, Kitakyūshū, on the site of a ladder-style flat castle. Its keep, rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1959, has a white-plastered upper section above a tall wall of tightly fitted dark grey and brown stones. Rows of narrow vertical windows pierce the facade, and a projecting white roof with a curved gable tops the structure.
Hosokawa Tadaoki established the castle in 1602 to control the Kokura region. The original tower burned down in 1837 during a fire, and the current reconstruction was completed only in 1959.
The tower houses a museum with dioramas and a karakuri theater, and since 2019 an elevator serves its floors. A troupe of 17 performers, the Kokura Castle Bushō-tai, portrays Hosokawa Tadaoki, his wife Garasha, and Miyamoto Musashi. The castle also hosts a Noh performance in late September and the Kokura Castle Squirrel Gathering in early January.
Access is on foot in about twenty minutes from JR Kokura Station, with the path leading through the surrounding park. The castle grounds open daily in the morning and close in the late afternoon, with an admission fee.
Inside the tower are displays of local weapons and armor from the feudal period, introducing visitors to the military past of the region. The top floor offers a wide view over the city and surrounding mountains.
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