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中津城（中津市）
NAKATSU CASTLE / Nakatsu City
中津城 （中津市）
大分県北部・中津市にある「中津城」は、黒い板張りの外観が特徴の平城（山の上ではなく、平地に建てられたお城）です。築城したのは、戦国時代に活躍した名将・黒田官兵衛。その後、江戸時代には細川家や小笠原家などの有力な武家の拠点となり、この地域の政治と暮らしを支えてきました。
中津城は海に面した珍しい立地でも知られ、かつては満潮時に海水が堀に入り、まるで海に浮かぶように見えたことから「水城」と呼ばれていました。「香川県高松城」、「愛媛の今治城」とともに「日本三大水城」の一つです。
現在の天守閣（お城のシンボルとなる塔のような建物）は昭和に再建されたものですが、内部は資料館として公開されており、江戸時代に中津藩を治めた奥平家に関連する資料が展示されています。桜の時期はお堀沿いで花見をする人も。城下町には「中津からあげ」の人気店や古い町並み、カフェなどがあり、歴史と暮らしを感じながら散策を楽しめます。
NAKATSU CASTLE / Nakatsu City
‘NAKATSU CASTLE’, located in northern Oita Nakatsu City, is a flat castle (built on flat land rather than on a mountain or raised area) with a black wooden-panelled exterior. The castle was built by Kanbei Kuroda, a renowned general active in the Warring States period. Later, in the Edo period, it served as the base for influential warrior clans like the Hosokawa and Ogasawara families, shaping the region’s politics and culture.
Nakatsu Castle is also known for its unusual location facing the sea, and was once called a ‘water castle’, because at high tide, seawater would enter the moat, making it appear as if it were floating on the sea. It is one of the ‘Three Great Water Castles of Japan’ along with ‘Takamatsu Castle in Kagawa Prefecture’ and ‘Imabari Castle in Ehime Prefecture’.
The current castle tower, a building that serves as the symbol of the castle, was rebuilt in the Showa period, and the interior is open to the public as a museum, displaying materials related to the Okudaira family that ruled the Nakatsu domain in the Edo period. During cherry blossom season, people can enjoy viewing the cherry blossoms flowering alongside the moat. In the castle town area visitors can also enjoy strolling while experiencing the history and day-to-day life of the era, visiting the popular ‘Nakatsu Karaage (Fried chicken)’ restaurants, old townscapes and cafes.
