Kumamoto (熊本市, Kumamoto-shi) - The capital
city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū, Japan.
Greater Kumamoto (ja:熊本都市圏) has a population of 1,460,000,
as of the 2000 Census. It is never considered part of the
Fukuoka-Kitakyushu metropolitan area despite both bordering
each other.
The city's most famous landmark is Kumamoto Castle, a large
and, in its day, extremely well-fortified Japanese castle.
The donjon (castle central keep) is a concrete
reconstruction built in the 1970s, but several ancillary
wooden buildings remain of the original castle, which was
assaulted during the Satsuma Rebellion and sacked and burned
after a 53-day siege. It was during this time that the
tradition of eating basashi (raw horse meat) originated.
Basashi remains popular in Kumamoto and, to a lesser extent,
elsewhere in Japan, though these days it is usually
considered a delicacy.
Within the outer walls of Kumamoto Castle is the Hosokawa
Gyobu-tei, the former residence of the Higo daimyo. This
traditional wooden mansion has a fine Japanese garden
located on its grounds.
Miyamoto Musashi lived the last part of his life in
Kumamoto.
Kumamoto is also home to Suizenji-Jōjuen, a formal garden
neighboring Suizenji Temple approximately 3 kilometers
southeast of Kumamoto Castle. Suizenji Park is considered to
be one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan, together with
Kenroku-en in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture,
Kairaku-en in Ibaraki Prefecture and Koraku-en in Okayama
Prefecture.
History
Kato Kiyomasa, a contemporary of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was
made daimyo of half of the (old) administrative region of
Higo in 1588. After that, Kiyomasa built Kumamoto Castle.
Due to its many innovative defensive designs, Kumamoto
Castle was considered impregnable, and Kiyomasa enjoyed a
reputation as one of the finest castle-builders in Japanese
history. After Kiyomasa died in 1611, his son, Tadahiro,
succeeded him, but Tadahiro was removed by Tokugawa Ieyasu
in 1633, replacing him with the Hosokawa clan. Former Prime
Minister of Japan Hosokawa Morihiro is a direct descendant
of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto. Another famous politician,
former president of Peru Alberto Fujimori, also has roots in
Kumamoto; Fujimori's ancestors emigrated from Kumamoto early
in the 20th century.
Information source: “Kumamoto, Kumamoto.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 4 Mar. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Kumamoto, Kumamoto>. |
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