{{Infobox military installation |name = Kushima Castle <br>玖島城 |partof = |location = Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan |image = Kushima castle 200901.jpg |image_size = 300px |caption = Reconstructed ''yagura'' of Kushima Castle | map_type = Japan Nagasaki Prefecture#Japan | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = |type = ''Hirayama''-style Japanese castle |coordinates = {{coord|32|53|49|N|129|57|28|E|format=dms|display=inline,title|type:landmark_region:JP_scale:10000}} |built = 1599, rebuilt 1614 |builder = Ōmura Yoshiaki |materials = |height = |used = Edo period |demolished =1871 |condition = ruins |ownership = |open_to_public = yes |controlledby = |garrison = |current_commander = |commanders = |occupants = |battles = |events = |image2 = Omura Castle air.jpg |image2_size = 300px |caption2 = Kushima Castle from the air }} thumb|Omura Castle, Japan {{nihongo|'''Kushima Castle'''|玖島城|Kushima-jō}}, also known as {{nihongo|'''Ōmura Castle'''|大村城|Ōmura-jō}} from its location, is a Japanese castle located in Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.<ref>Schmorleitz, ''Castles in Japan''</ref>
==History== Kushima castle is built on a peninsula extending into Ōmura Bay. Kushima Castle was the ancestral home of the Ōmura clan, having first been constructed in the Kamakura period by descendants of Fujiwara no Sumitomo. It was the base of ''Kirishitan'' ''daimyō'' Ōmura Yoshiaki (1568–1615), who assisted Toyotomi Hideyoshi in securing control of Kyūshū. After Hideyoshi's death and the Battle of Sekigahara, the Ōmura clan was confirmed by ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieyasu as a ''tozama han'' with revenues of 27,000 ''koku'' in their ancestral territories. The Sengoku period castle of 1598 was rebuilt in 1614 by Ōmura Sumiyori per plans draw up by noted castle designer Katō Kiyomasa. After the start of the national isolation policy and the persecution of the Japanese Christians, many local Christians were herded into the grounds of Ōmura Castle and forced to take poison in 1616.<ref>Trumbull, ''The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan''</ref> Ōmura Sumiyori himself was poisoned in 1619.
The Ōmura daimyō remained in residence at Kushima Castle until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. It was the seat of the local government until 1871, when the former Ōmura Domain was merged into the new Nagasaki Prefecture. The ''donjon'' was pulled down in 1871, as were all of the supporting structures. Today, only the moat and portions of stone walls remain.
In 1884, a Shinto shrine was erected on the foundations of the former keep, in honor of the spirits of the generations of Ōmura daimyō. In 1981, one of the ''yagura'' and some earthen walls were reconstructed.<ref>[http://www.kumin.ne.jp/dmogrady/profiles/Omura.html]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Japanese Castle Explorer</ref> The site of the castle now forms Ōmura Park, which contains a number of protected plant species, including many examples of the Ōmura ''sakura'' and extensive public gardens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.city.omura.nagasaki.jp/e/historical_places2.htm |title=Historical Places |accessdate=2009-02-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611084930/http://www.city.omura.nagasaki.jp/e/historical_places2.htm |archivedate=2009-06-11}} Omura city home page</ref>
== References == *{{cite book |title=An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles | last=De Lange |first=William |year=2021 |pages=600 pages|publisher=Toyo Press |location=Groningen |isbn=978-9492722300}} *{{cite book| title=Castles in Japan| last=Schmorleitz| first=Morton S.| year=1974| pages=[https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144 144–145]| publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Co.| location=Tokyo| isbn=0-8048-1102-4| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/castlesinjapan00schm/page/144}} *{{cite book | title=Japanese Castles| last=Motoo| first=Hinago| year=1986| publisher=Kodansha| location=Tokyo| isbn=0-87011-766-1| page= 200 pages}} *{{cite book | title=Castles of the Samurai: Power and Beauty | last=Mitchelhill| first=Jennifer| year=2004| publisher=Kodansha| location=Tokyo| isbn=4-7700-2954-3 | page= 112 pages}} *{{cite book | title=Japanese Castles 1540–1640 | url=https://archive.org/details/japanesecastles00turn | url-access=limited | last=Turnbull| first=Stephen| year=2003| publisher=Osprey Publishing| isbn=1-84176-429-9 | page= [https://archive.org/details/japanesecastles00turn/page/n33 64] pages}} * {{cite book| last = Turnbull| first = Stephen | title = The Kakure Kirishitan of Japan: A Study of Their Development, Beliefs and Rituals to the Present Day | publisher = RoutledgeCurzon | year = 1998 | isbn = 1-873410-70-0}}
==External links== *[http://www.japanese-castle-explorer.com/castle_profile.html?name=Kushima Japanese Castle Explorer - Kushima Castle] {{commons category|Kushima Castle}}
==Notes== {{reflist}}
Category:Castles in Nagasaki Prefecture