The
Kirishitan Arima clan, who ruled over the Shimabara peninsula from the late
Muromachi period from
Hinoe Castle and
Hara Castle were transferred to
Nobeoka Domain in 1616 by the
Tokugawa shogunate. The Arima were replaced as
daimyō of
Shimabara Domain by
Matsukura Shigemasa as a reward for his services in the
Siege of Osaka. This was soon after the shogunate banned Christianity from 1614 and Matsukura strictly enforced the prohibition against Christianity with mass executions. In 1618, he began the construction of Shimabara Castle using forced labor. Construction was plagued with difficulties due to the loose lava soil of the site, which created problems for supporting the weight of the stone walls, and construction took seven years and the castle was not completed until 1624. During this period, Matsukura raised taxes severely, partly to pay for the construction costs of the castle. This oppression of the peasants was a major factor leading to the
Shimabara Rebellion of 1637 to 1638. The castle came under siege during the Shimabara Rebellion, but was not damaged. It subsequently served as the seat of the
Kōriki clan, who ruled Shimabara from 1638–1668,
Matsudaira clan (1669–1747, 1774–1871) and Toda clan (1747–1774). The Matsudaira
daimyō remained in residence at Shimabara Castle until the
Meiji Restoration of 1868. It was the seat of the local government until 1871, when the former Shimabara Domain was merged into the new
Nagasaki prefecture. The castle was abolished by the
Meiji government in 1874 and the
tenshu was pulled down in 1876, as were most of the supporting structures, and the land sold to the private sector. The third bailey became a school grounds, and most of the inner bailey was given over to farmland. Today, only the moat and stone walls remain from the original structure. The West Yagura was restored in 1960, and the
tenshu was rebuilt in 1964 in
reinforced concrete as a city museum containing exhibits of the
Kirishitan culture, Shimabara Rebellion and feudal period. In 1972, the Tatsumi Yagura was restored. It became a memorial museum in honor of
Seibo Kitamura, a noted sculptor, in 1980. Also in 1980, the Ushitora Yagura was restored. A Tourism Revival Memorial Hall was opened on the castle grounds to convey information about the Unzen-Fugen volcanic disaster in 1996. In 2006, the Shimabara Castle was listed one of the
100 Fine Castles of Japan by the Japan Castle Foundation. In 2016, Shimabara Castle was designated as a Nagasaki Prefecture Historic Site. It was upgraded to a
National Historic Site in 2025. File:Tenshu of Shimabara Castle 2.jpg|Tenshu File:島原城DSC00442.JPG|Tenshu File:View of West Turret of Shimabara Castle 2.jpg|Mount Unzen and the West Yagura File:140321 A view from Shimabara Castle Shimabara Nagasaki pref Japan01s3.jpg|Mount Unzen from the tenshu File:140321 Shimabara Castle Shimabara Nagasaki pref Japan06s3.jpg|Inner Bailey and Ni-no-maru bailey 750226 Shimabara cstl aerial.jpg|Aerial photograph ==See also==