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Famous shogun Kato Kiyomasa, known as Seishoko-san, scored success in the battle of Sekigahara and was rewarded a large piece of land in Kumamoto by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The former landlord's residence - Kumamoto Castle - was rather small for the new owner. Thus construction of the new Kumamoto Castle began. The new building took 7 years to construct, and in 1601 it was completed.
The castle town, traffic routes, irrigation and embankment were laid out at this time, all of which has become the basic structure of the city today. After Kiyomasa's death, however, Tokugawa suspected a revolt by the Kato family. Therefore in 1632 Kumamoto's rule was handed over to Ashikaga's party member Hosokawa Tadatoshi.
The Hosokawa family ruled 11 generations in a total of 239 years throughout the Yedo period (1600 ~ 1868), during which the castle town flourished as a cultural center. Few years into the Meiji period (1868 ~ 1912), the Satsuma Rebellion caused by Saigo Takamori burned down Kumamoto Castle in 1877. The castle that stands today is a reconstructed building.
