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is a Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. It is also known as Maizuru Castle (舞鶴城 Maizuru-jō) or Seki Castle (石城 Seki-jō). Completed in the early Edo period for tozama daimyo Kuroda Nagamasa, it has been decreed a historic site by the Japanese government. The castle lies in the centre of Fukuoka, on top of Fukusaki hill. The , Naka-gawa in Japanese, acts as a natural moat on the eastern side of the castle, while the western side uses a mudflat as a natural moat. Hakata, a ward with a bustling port, is located on the opposite side of the Naka River to the east. The castle town was established on the northern side, facing the sea. Much of the castle grounds has been converted to Maizuru Park, which houses several sports facilities, a courthouse, and an art museum. Heiwadai Baseball Stadium, the past home field of the Nishitetsu Lions and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, was also located on the castle grounds. Some of the castle's gates as well as its towers and turrets, known as ''yaguras'', are preserved inside the park, one of which has been marked as an important historical artifact by the Japanese government. The remnants of a ', an ancient guest house for foreign diplomats, were discovered under the castle grounds in 1987, showing that the castle was a vital geographical checkpoint even into the Heian period. This is the only ''korokan'' remnant found in all of Japan. ==History== In 1600, Kuroda Nagamasa received huge rewards in the form of land in Chikuzen Province for his contributions during the Battle of Sekigahara and moved into Najima Castle (名島城 Najima-jō) to form the Fukuoka han. Najima Castle had been created by Tachibana Akitoshi and was expanded by Kobayakawa Takakage, but was much too small to accommodate a large han, leading to the selection of Fukusaki hill as a new castle site. Construction began in 1601 (Keichō year 6). Yoshitaka, an expert at establishing fortifications, and Noguchi Kazunari, a stonemason who had worked on Edo Castle and Osaka Castle, directed the construction. Completed in 1607 (Keichō year 12) after seven years of work, the castle is said to have contained an impressive 47 ''yaguras'', and covered an area of 47,000 square metres (making it the largest in the Kyūshū region). Katō Kiyomasa of the nearby Kumamoto han lauded the castle for its grandeur. The dry stone fortification designed by Noguchi was especially impressive, giving the castle the name "Seki-jō" (literally "Stone Castle"). The castle and castle town were renamed "Fukuoka" from "Fukusaki", after Fukuoka of Bizen Province (current Setouchi, Okayama), where the Kuroda family had originated. Several minor repairs were made during the Edo period, and full-scale renovation was conducted during the Bakumatsu period. In 1871, (Meiji year 4) the abolition of the han system forced the abandonment of the castle. Many of the buildings inside the castle grounds were taken down or moved to other locations. In 1920, (Taishō year 9) the Kinen Yagura was relocated to Taishō temple in Yahata Higashi-ku, Kitakyushu. The building was moved back to its original location in 1983. On August 29, 1957, the castle was decreed a historic site by the Japanese government. Additional gates and ''yaguras'' were also decreed historical artifacts by the prefectural government in 1952, 1961, 1971 and 1957. Part of the second main gate was set on fire by a vandal in 2000. Reconstruction of the gate is currently under way. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fukuoka Castle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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