Kokura Castle

During the medieval period, Kokura was in a strategical location, being a commercial node able to use both land and water transportation. The first castle was built here in 1569, by the Mori clan, which owned the land until the Battle of Sekigahara. After the battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the Kokura castle (which by then was badly damaged) to Hosokawa Tadaoki, who started the reconstruction. The castle remained ruled by retainers of the Tokugawa shogun until 1866 when, at the end of the Edo Period, was burned down by the Mori clan troops.

The Kokura castle was rebuilt in 1959, with a concrete structure. However, the reconstruction was unfortunately done without preserving the original design, therefore the tower, although very beautiful, doesn't have much historical value.