Kushima Castle Site

Kushima Castle was built in 1599 on a small peninsula jutting into Omura Bay, chosen for its defensible position during a period of political uncertainty following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Omura family lived here until 1871, when the castle was demolished after the Tokugawa shogunate ended. The castle was protected by moats connected to the sea, stone walls, and wooden watchtowers. Under the second lord, it was expanded with input from the general Kato Kiyomasa, who had designed the famously impregnable Kumamoto Castle. Today the stone walls and moats remain as part of Omura Park, with Omura Shrine established on the grounds in 1884 to honor generations of the Omura family.