CASTLE-1 KUMAMOTO CASTLE

Kumamoto Castle (also known as Ginkgo Castle) is a Japanese defensive structure erected in the Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. The building was built in the 15th century, and the first defensive structures were built in 1467, to be expanded around 1495. A significant expansion took place in the years 1601-1607, when the castle was actually transformed into a fortification complex with nearly 50 towers and numerous gates. In the course of the fighting related to the modernization of Japan in the Meiji era, the castle was partially destroyed (1877). The first attempt to restore it to its original glory took place in 1960, when the main defensive tower (keep) was rebuilt, using concrete, trying only to maintain the form of a fortification from the 16th-17th centuries. In the years 1998-2008 the castle was renovated. A dozen or so buildings on the territory of the castle complex are recognized by the Japanese government as important for the culture of this country, and the Kumamoto Castle itself is considered one of the most beautiful Japanese castles.