I left the ferry and boarded the city bus, which I rode to the Beppu train station. I found this statue in front of the station extremely creepy.
I got off the train at the Usuki Station. Usuki is the home of the Usuki Stone Buddhas, but that wasn’t the reason I stopped there.
I walked about 15 minutes to the castle grounds. I could see it above me before I actually got to it.
This is a Japanese archery (Kyudo) course.
I continued uphill until I arrived at the castle site.
From J-castle website -
Otomo Sourin moved from his palace in Funai and built Usuki Castle in 1562. Otomo was one of the strongest lords in Kyushu and controlled a large portion of the island. Hideyoshi started his Kyushu Campaigns in 1587 and with support from Otomo quickly took control of all of Kyushu. Otomo was replaced by Ota Kazuyoshi and Ota was replaced by Inaba Sadamichi from Gujo Hachiman Castle after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. The Inaba continued to rule until the Meiji Period.
In the toilet on site was this sign - No Flashing
The outdoor stone sink
Part of the castle grounds included a shrine
This is the Castle Keep area
Instead of walking down the hill to go back to the train station, I walked down this circular thing.
3 comments:
Is that a hot mineral foot bath inside the bamboo dome, behind the creepy statue?
I do hope you visited the Usuki Buddha Statues - they are fantastic.
It is always interesting to see that even when the castle buildings are no longer there, the remains are. Often, they have been turned into beautiful parks with good views of the surrounding area and may house a shrine, museum, and picnic area.
The spiral slope out of the park is unique and can be seen as a landmark.
I looked up the images of the creepy men you saw. His name is Kumahachi Aburaya. He is said to be the father of Beppu tourism. The bronze statue is in a pose with both hand raised high with a smile on its face. The sculptor who created it says that it is an image of Kumahachi descending from heaven and calling out “Hello”. The cloak he wears is haunted by a little demon.
Art sometimes hides very difficult interpretations. Because he just lookslike a creepy guy.
Usuki Castle is said to have been the resistance of Otomo Sorin, a famous Christian feudal lord. It looks like you can spend a refreshing time on the spacious grounds.
Gosh, that statue really is creepy! Thankfully, the rest of the stop seemed much less though. I love how well kept and clean castle grounds are in Japan. And you can cross one more off your list!
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