Nagoya Castle Ruins and Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum

Nagoya Castle Ruins and Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum

Nagoya Castle Ruins and Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum The Nagoya Castle and Annex Building Ruins, a national historic site spanning from the city of Karatsu to the town of Genkai, was constructed for Hideyoshi Toyotomi as the staging point for the Bunroku and Keicho invasions on Korea (1592 - 1598).  At the same time, these ruins, which surround the ruins of Nagoya Castle itself for a 3 km radius, was where buildings once sat which were home to over 130 of Japan's feudal lords, making these ruins one of the country's largest and most unique.
Nagoya Castle was a giant castle with an area of 17,000 which was built from 1591 to 1592 and completed in a mere 5 months. At the time, it was the 2nd biggest in Japan, after Osaka Castle. Today, the stone walls of the castle ruins speak of the grandeur of the time. A town formed beneath the castle which became the home of over 200,000 samurai and merchants from around Japan. Hideyoshi and the other feudal lords which did not cross the sea to Korea, introduced cultural elements of the Momoyama Period, such as Noh theatre and tea ceremony, to Nagoya. In 1997, ruins of a thatched tea house were discovered at Yamasato Maru (the ruins of Hideyoshi's former residence) within Nagoya Castle Ruins; a discovery which created much hype. The warring feudal lords brought many people back to Japan with them from the Korean Peninsula during the battles of Bunroku and Keicho. Of these, the highly-skilled potters went on to perform pottery across Kyushu, and it is said that they were the ones who began Karatsu-yaki and Arita-yaki pottery, representative of Saga prefecture.
The museum adjacent to the Nagoya Castle Ruins identifies the Bunroku and Keicho battles as invasions, and as a form of reflection, features an exhibition under the theme of "The Interactive History Between The Japan Archipelago and Korean Peninsula". This exhibition permanently displays around 220 items representing the interaction between the two nations, which spanned several thousands of years from primitive times to modern day, and aims to promote future interaction and friendship.


[Ruins of Nagoya Castle]
● Entry Fee: Free

● Access:
From train station: 30-minute taxi ride from Karatsu Station on JR Karatsu Line and Chikuhi Line
Car: 60-minute drive from Nagasaki Expressway Taku IC
Bus: Get on Showa Bus bound for Hado Misaki at Karatsu Oteguchi Bus Center, get off at Nagoya-jo Hakubutsukan Iriguchi stop and walk for 5 minutes

● Contact: Division of Tourism, Karatsu City Government, Tel: +81-955-72-9127 

 


[Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum]
● Access:
From train station: 30-minute taxi ride from Karatsu Station on JR Karatsu Line and Chikuhi Line
Car: 60-minute drive from Nagasaki Expressway Taku IC
Bus: Get on Showa Bus bound for Hado Misaki at Karatsu Oteguchi Bus Center, get off at Nagoya-jo Hakubutsukan Iriguchi stop and walk for 5 minutes

● Entry Fee: Free (*Except during special exhibitions; discount applicable to groups of 20 or more people; no fees charged to high school students and younger) 

● Opening Hours: 9:00 - 17:00 (admission ends at 16:30)

● Closed: Mondays (or the following day if a Monday falls on a public holiday) and December 29 - 31

● Parking Lot: Accommodates 50 cars (free of charge)
● Contact: Nagoya Castle Museum, Tel: +81-955-82-4905
● Website: http://saga-museum.jp/nagoya/

Map

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