Castle City by an Active Volcano — where Kumamoto Castle's layered black ramparts are one of Japan's finest surviving medieval fortresses, Kumamon the round-faced black bear mascot earns the region billions in merchandise, and Mt. Aso's caldera rim is an hour away from the city by train
Kumamoto is the capital of Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu — the southernmost of Japan's four main islands — and one of Japan's most liveable mid-size cities. The city is dominated by Kumamoto Castle, built by feudal lord Kato Kiyomasa between 1601 and 1607 — considered by many Japanese historians to be the most technically sophisticated castle in Japan, with curvilinear stone walls (mushashibetsu, a design that makes them nearly impossible to climb) and 49 towers. Kiyomasa's military engineering innovations at Kumamoto were so advanced that the castle held out for 50 days against a 13,000-man…
The Kumamoto area was historically part of Higo Province, one of Kyushu's most strategically contested territories. The castle was built by Kato Kiyomasa — one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's most brilliant commanders — specifically as a fortification against potential Tokugawa aggression after Hideyoshi's death. Kiyomasa's innovations included designing the castle to survive a siege: interior wells, gingko trees (edible in emergencies) planted within the walls, and enough stored provisions for a year. Despite these preparations, the Tokugawa took Kiyomasa's domain from his heirs anyway (1632) and in…