Kikuchi Fortress (鞠智城) 鞠智城
7th-century fortress with an octagonal wooden tower 15.8 m high; park and museum free.
It was built in the second half of the 7th century, about 1,350 years ago, by the Yamato court, that is, the government of ancient Japan, after the defeat at Hakusukinoe in 663 against Tang China and the Korean kingdom of Silla: it was one of the mountain fortresses created in the west of the country and served as a base for sending weapons and provisions to Dazaifu, the administrative centre of Kyūshū. It is mentioned in the chronicles: in 698 the court ordered the repair of the three fortresses of Ōno, Ki and Kikuchi. It stands on a hill at between 90 and 171 m, straddling Yamaga and Kikuchi, with a perimeter of 3.5 km and an area of about 55 hectares (twelve Tokyo Dome stadiums); the excavations, begun in 1967, have found the foundations of 72 buildings, including four octagonal bases, which according to the prefecture have no parallel among Japan's ancient fortresses. Since fiscal year 1994 four structures have been rebuilt, and the entrance museum dates from 2002. It has been a National Historic Site (史跡) since 27 February 2004; on 6 April 2017 it was added to the second list of the 100 Castles of Japan (続日本100名城, no. 189). It is not a samurai castle.
Kumamoto
