A powerful earthquake that recently shook Japan's Kyushu region has once again dealt a major blow to Kumamoto Castle, which is more than 400 years old.
According to local outlets including the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Sankei Shimbun on the 29th, the Kumamoto Castle General Office said traces of collapse were found at at least 28 locations within the castle due to a strong tremor with a magnitude of 7.1 that struck the previous day.
The management office confirmed this damage by 8:30 p.m., about four hours after the quake, and expressed concern that the scale could grow as a detailed survey proceeds in daylight. However, the specific collapsed area and other details have not yet been fully determined.
In addition to sections of the stone walls sinking, major wooden structures also suffered damage in this disaster. Distortions such as cracks in the interior walls were observed in a total of four buildings, including the tenshukaku, a symbol of the castle, and the Honmaru Goten, where the lord formerly resided.
Kumamoto Castle, renowned along with Osaka Castle and Nagoya Castle as one of Japan's three famed castles, was begun in 1601 and completed in 1607 by warlord Kato Kiyomasa, who invaded Joseon during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 and captured Seonjo's sons, Prince Imhae and Prince Sunhwa.
During the Kumamoto Earthquake in 2016, this castle had already suffered extensive damage to stone walls and roofs, and long-running restoration work was underway. But before those wounds could heal, another natural disaster has struck, compounding the sorrow. Local media said that in the case of Uto Yagura, which is registered as an Important Cultural Property, additional damage from this shock was avoided because dismantling work to repair the earthquake damage from 10 years ago was already in progress.