page_title: Kumamoto
section_title: Kumamoto Castle
hierarchical_section_title: Kumamoto / Landmarks / Kumamoto Castle
caption_attribution_description: English: Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan 日本語: 熊本城, 熊本県熊本市 Camera: Sony DSLR-A700Lens: Sony SAL1680Z (Carl Zeiss)
context_page_description: Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan.
  As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 persons per km². The total area is 390.32 km².
  Greater Kumamoto had a population of 1,461,000, as of the 2000 census. As of 2010, Kumamoto Metropolitan Employment Area has a GDP of US$39.8 billion. It is not considered part of the Fukuoka–Kitakyushu metropolitan area, despite their shared border. The city was designated on April 1, 2012, by government ordinance.
context_section_description: The city's most famous landmark is Kumamoto Castle, a large and once extremely well fortified Japanese castle. The donjon (castle central keep) is a concrete reconstruction built in the 1970s, but several ancillary wooden buildings from the original castle remain.  The castle was assaulted during the Satsuma Rebellion and sacked and burned after a 53-day siege. It was during this time that the tradition of eating basashi (raw horse meat) originated. Basashi remains popular in Kumamoto and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Japan, although these days it is usually considered a delicacy.
  Within the outer walls of Kumamoto Castle is the Hosokawa Gyobu-tei, the former residence of the Higo daimyō. This traditional wooden mansion has a fine Japanese garden located on its grounds.
caption: Kumamoto Castle
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