also called ''Maizuru Castle'' is the remains of a castle structure in Kirishima,

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The site is called a ''Kokubu castle'', but it is a fortified residence rather than a castle. In 1604,

Shimazu Yoshihiro was the second son of Shimazu Takahisa and the younger brother of Shimazu Yoshihisa. Traditionally believed to be the 17th head of the Shimazu clan, he was a skilled general during the Sengoku period who greatly contributed to the unificatio ...

built the castle and moved from Tomiguma Castle.

Shimazu Yoshihisa was a powerful ''daimyō'' and the 16th Chief of Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province, the eldest son of Shimazu Takahisa. He was renowned as a great general, who managed to subjugate Kyushu through the deft maneuvering of his three brothers. Eventu ...

lived a retired life in the castle, he died January 21 in 1611 Currently Kokubu elementary school is on site, but stone walls, moats and gates still remain. Kokubu castle Akamon

References

{{Reflist Castles in Kagoshima Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan Former castles in Japan Ruined castles in Japan Shimazu clan Kirishima, Kagoshima