History
This castle was constructed by Kikkawa Hiroie from 1601 to 1608 as his own castle.
Kikkawa was a retainer of a vassal of the Shogun under the Mōri clan. However, this castle was dismantled as per the Ikkoku-ichijo (一国一城, literally, "One Castle Per Province") order established by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1615.
The famous Kintai Bridge was originally a bridge to the main gate of the castle.
After the destruction of the castle, Kikkawa used a part of the old castle as his residential office.
A replica of the castle tower stands high on a hill above the Nishiki River and the Kintai Bridge in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The Kikkawa clan held this castle and Iwakuni Han, which was assessed at 30 000 (later 60 000) koku.
Read more about this topic: Iwakuni Castle
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“The history of the world is the record of the weakness, frailty and death of public opinion.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“Perhaps universal history is the history of the diverse intonation of some metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)