Kagoshima Castle

鹿児島県

Seat of the Shimazu clan for 270 years — a castleless fortress embodying Satsuma's motto that people, not walls, are the true defense

Founded

1602

Type

Castle

Visited

Want to go

Access

About 10 min by bus from JR Kagoshima-Chuo Station

Shiroyama-cho, Kagoshima, Kagoshima

Open in Google Maps ↗

Info

Castle

Founded 1602

424 years

Overview

Kagoshima Castle, commonly known as Tsurumaru Castle, was the seat of the Shimazu clan. A practical fortress without a keep, it employed a unique defense system with 113 outer fortifications throughout the domain. The Goromon gate was reconstructed in wood in 2020 after 147 years.

Origins

Kagoshima Castle, widely known as Tsurumaru Castle, was founded in 1602 by Shimazu Iehisa, the lord of the Satsuma Domain. Built as a flatland-hill castle without a keep, it embodied the Satsuma spirit of relying on people rather than fortifications for defense. While the castle featured sturdy ston…

Pilgrimage Courses

100 Famous Japanese Castles

0 / 98 spots

→

Sites of the Shimazu Clan

0 / 5 spots

→

記
Related Articles
— 1

記

Saigo Takamori: Two Island Exiles Forged the Hero of the Meiji Restoration

Saigo Takamori (1828-1877), the great Meiji Restoration hero, endured two island exiles totaling six years. After his lord Shimazu Nariakira's death and a failed double-suicide with the monk Gessho, he was secretly exiled to Amami Oshima (1859-62), where he married Aikana, then to Okinoerabu Island (1862-64) where he was confined in an open-air cell.

era

›

人
Related Figures
— 1

Shimazu Yoshihiro

Oni-Shimazu (Demon of Shimazu)

Age 67 at founding

›

Kagoshima Castle (Tsurumaru) was begun in 1601 by Shimazu Iehisa, brother of Shimazu Yoshihiro. After returning from the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), Yoshihiro helped establish the domain's governance alongside his brother with this castle at its center. Yoshihiro's martial prestige and diplomatic negotiations with the Toyotomi regime were the foundation that preserved Satsuma's autonomy.

Posts

＋

No posts yet

Visiting Information

Hours

The castle ruins themselves (Goromon gate, stone walls, moat) can be freely viewed at any time. The adjacent Reimeikan museum is open 9:00 AM–6:00 PM (last entry 5:30 PM). Closed Mondays (following weekday if a holiday), the 25th of each month, and Dec 31–Jan 2.

Admission

Viewing the castle ruins is free. Reimeikan permanent exhibition: general ¥430, high school/university students ¥270, elementary/junior high ¥160, preschoolers free.

As of 2026-07-17. Subject to change.

Also Worth Visiting

南

Nanshu Cemetery

The sacred resting place of Saigo Takamori and 2,023 Satsuma soldiers who fell in the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, with an annual memorial on September 24

1.1km

→

Terukuni Jinja

The largest shrine in Kagoshima, enshrining the enlightened lord Shimazu Nariakira, mentor of Saigo Takamori, as Terukuni Daimyojin

371m

→

九