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Saga Castle
By Japanese standards, Saga Castle is a rather unusual castle. Being built on plains and surrounded by only a wall, whereas most Japanese castles are built on hills or mountains and upon stone bases. This kind of castle is called a hiraijiro. This castle was built from 1602 to 1611 and was home to the Nabeshima clan, the daimyo family of the Saga Domain. Its nickname, Shizumi-jo, means "Submerged Castle" for the interesting style of rampart that surrounds the castle. With the banks of the moat planted with pine and camphor trees for additional concealment, the castle appears to be almost sinking. Unfortunately, the castle has seen some destruction. In 1726, a fire destroyed most of the structures; and another fire occurred in 1835. In both instances, the castle was quickly rebuilt. From 2001 to 2004, the main portion of the castle was renovated and today it houses the Saga Castle History Museum. Saga Castle is also the largest wooden castle reconstruction in Japan.
