Fukuoka Castle to Come to Life Lit Up in 7 Different Colors

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:54 JST, February 10, 2024

FUKUOKA — An event will make a castle keep appear at the ruins of Fukuoka Castle and illuminate it in seven different colors to make it look as if the castle tower were standing today.

The stone wall base for a castle tower, called a tenshudai, is found in the center of the ruins at Maizuru Park in Fukuoka City, but the castle keep does not stand there. The municipal government, which manages the park, will erect a temporary skeletal framework of the keep on top of the tenshudai and illuminate it with LEDs in line with the Fukuoka Castle cherry blossom festival beginning mid-March.

The frame will be illuminated in seven different colors, including red, green, and orange, and the effects will change depending on the time of day. The frame will be approximately 14 meters high, and the stone base will also be lit up.

Fukuoka Castle was built over a period of seven years from 1601 by Kuroda Nagamasa, the first feudal lord of the Fukuoka domain. However, there is no proof that a keep was ever built on the tenshudai, and there is still debate over its existence.

During the illumination period, including the keep construction which will begin mid-February, visitors will not be allowed to climb up to the tenshudai. The illumination is scheduled to be held through the end of May.