JAPAN ALMANAC
Interpretive illustrated fallback for Kikuchi Castle; not a site photograph.

Castle Atlas / No. 189

Kikuchi Castle

Kikuchi Castle is Foundation list no. 189, recorded in 熊本県山鹿市、菊池市 as a 山城（古代山城） site associated with ヤマト政権 and unlisted principal lords.

Open in Google MapsOfficial visitor source

History

What historically stood here

The Japan Castle Foundation records 鞠智城 as a 山城（古代山城） site in 山鹿市, 菊池市, with the founding label 天智4～6年（665～667）頃. The listed builder or associated clan is ヤマト政権; principal lords are not specified in the Foundation row.

Today

What you are actually seeing today

The atlas currently classifies the visible condition as archaeological fortified site. Check the linked operator page for current hours, fees and restoration details.

Current condition
Mountain castle ruins
Terrain
Yamajiro: mountain castle
Condition note
Mountain castle with earthworks or stonework only. Classified 2026-09-24 from the structured fields at https://cmeg.jp/w/castles/9610.

Architecture And Defense

How to read the place

This record still needs feature-level reporting. For now, do not assume the most visible modern structure is the most historically important part of the castle.

Cultural-property notes in the Foundation row: 国指定史跡.

Visit

Present-day visitor information

Foundation-linked visitor source available; current hours, fees, closures and restoration information have not been republished in this first atlas pass.

Address or access location
熊本県山鹿市菊鹿町宇田原米原／菊池市木野
Coordinates
33.002323, 130.788167
Nearest useful station
See official visitor information.
Estimated visit duration
See official visitor information.
Opening hours
Check the official visitor source.
Admission
Check the official visitor source.

Nearby

Castles close enough to compare

Sources

Source and correction context

Identity, list membership, Foundation list number, municipality, basic classification and cultural-property notes are source-verified. Site-level visitor details require additional review unless this record is publishable. Foundation numbers are official list identifiers, not rankings. Coordinates use the Foundation-linked position-data KML and should be treated as visitor-planning coordinates rather than archaeological survey points.

Sources

  1. Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles, Japan Castle Foundation. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used for the official identity, list number, list membership, location municipality, castle type, founding label, builders, principal lords, and cultural-property notes for the continued 100-castle selection.
  2. Japan's Top 100 and Continued Top 100 Castle Position Data, Japan Castle Foundation / Nippon Castle. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used for the 200 castle addresses and coordinates exposed through the public map linked from the Japan Castle Foundation castle-search page.
  3. 100 Fine Castles of Japan and Continued 100 Fine Castles of Japan, Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used only as a secondary cross-check for common English castle names; Japan Castle Foundation records remain the corpus source of truth.
  4. Nippon Shiro Meguri castle records: keep structure, remains and rebuilt structures, Nippon Shiro Meguri (cmeg.jp). Accessed 2026-09-24. Structured fields for each of the 200 castles, used to classify what stands at each site today. The linked record for each castle is its coordinate source.