The castle in Kagoshima, which was completed on behalf of the SHIMIZU family in 1602, is also known as Tsurumaru-jô – ‘crane with open wings’ – because of its shape. Due to the SHIMIZU philosophy that ‘the people themselves embody the bulwark’, a main tower was not built. During the Satsuma Uprising (1877), the castle was almost completely destroyed, leaving only the outer walls and the stone bridge from 1606.
other castles
