Iwakuni Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Yamaguchi

Perched on Mount Shiroyama (Yokoyama), about 200 metres above a bend of the Nishiki River, Iwakuni Castle overlooks the city and the famous Kintai Bridge, whose wooden arches once linked the merchant town to the lord's quarter. Kikkawa Hiroie, who settled here after the Battle of Sekigahara, first had a residence built at the foot of the mountain and then, from 1601 to 1608, a summit fortress crowned by a four-storey keep with an overhanging top floor in the so-called karazukuri style. The castle had a very short life: as early as 1615, the shogunate's edict allowing only one castle per province led to its dismantling, and the Kikkawa thereafter governed their domain from the lowland residence, today Kikkō Park. The present reinforced-concrete keep was rebuilt in 1962 slightly south of the original site so as to be visible from the bridge; it houses a small museum of weapons and armour and offers a wide panorama over the city and the Inland Sea. The foundations of the original keep, excavated and restored in 1995, and stone walls survive on the summit. A ropeway leads up from the park. The castle is one of Japan's 100 Fine Castles.