A retainer of Hideyoshi Toyotomi and the first lord of Karatsu, Hirotaka Terasawa, had completed its building for 7years in 1602. Many lords from the Kyushu area helped this construction and old materials used in the Nagoya castle were used. The castle looks like a crane's body and the pine trees stretching from the east to west look like its wings, which was given its nickname to Maizuru castle (a dancing- crane castle).
The castle used to be composed of the main building, second building, third building, and Sotoguruwa (the walls of a castle) and was rebuilt in 1966 as a facility for cultural tourism. The inside of the castle was redesigned in 2017 and composed of the information center on the 1st floor, the history corner on the 2nd floor, and the Karatsuware corner on the 3rd floor, and the rest space on the 4th floor, and the observation gallery on the 5th floor.
The observation gallery is a perfect viewing spot in Karatsu! See the Niji no Matsubara Pine Grove, Karatsu bay, and the townscape of Karatsu. When you hold your smartphone or tablet device over the view from the observation gallery, you will get the information about sightseeing spots with a panoramic image using an AR camera (Use of the official app). Karatsu is also a famous place for cherry blossoms in April and wisteria in April to May.
Highlights
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Also known as Maizuru castle; feel completely satisfied with the beauty.
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You can look over the townscape and feel like an old lord in the observation gallery.
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You can learn about the history of the Karatsu clan in the Edo period through the exhibitions.
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Many people visit to view cherry blossoms and wisteria in Spring.
