Obi Castle Ruins

Nichinan, Japan, Japan

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Obi Castle Ruins are the remains of a flatland castle in the historic town of Obi, now part of Nichinan City in Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, famous for its long association with the Ito clan, who ruled the area as daimyō for 280 years under the Edo shogunate.

The castle was originally built in the 14th century, but the main structure was largely rebuilt in the early 17th century by Ito Sukeyori, and its layout was designed with a grid-like pattern of streets and waterways, extensive stone walls, and a distinctive wooden gate known as the Otemon (the palace gate) that has been restored and preserved as one of the most iconic surviving castle gates in Kyushu.

Today the site is integrated into a park area called Obi Castle Ruins Park, where visitors can walk along massive stone walls, cross restored stone steps and gates, and enter a remarkable inner bailey forest known as the former honmaru healing cedar grove, a 140-year-old cedar and moss forest that feels like a quiet, mystical woodland and offers a peaceful contrast to the surrounding historic town.