The History of Kumamoto Castle
1607Constructed
1877Burned down during the Satsuma Rebellion
1960Reconstructed
April 2016The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes
- ・Maximum seismic intensity : 7
- ・Magnitude : 7.3
- ・Collapsed houses：8,298 (FDMA, 27th October 2016)
after the earthquake
of the small keep tower
Restorations
May - July 2016
"Iron arm" supporting
Kumamoto Castle
“Iron arm” supports
Kumamoto castle
to prevent it from collapsing
- A frame was assembled above the castle to cover it and an “iron arm” was inserted beneath with beams to receive the load.
- Construction period : about 2 months
- Length：33m, height：14m, width：6m, Weight：220t
2016 - 2019
Surrogate
Remote control device
for heavy machinery
- Device that remotely controls heavy machinery
- Attach device to the cockpit of a general backhoe
- Collect fallen stones safely by remote control
- 581 fallen stones and all cobblestone collected
Countermeasures
March - June 2019
Guri-Grid
Improving earthquake
resistance of stone wall
- Improve seismic performance of stone wall without damaging stones.
- Improve and reinforce the meshing effect of stones with a diameter of 100~300mm inside the stone wall.
- It is a sheet material in which polyethylene bands and stainless-steel rods are joined in a grid pattern.
- It was applied to 177m2 of stone wall at the entrance of the small keep tower.
April 2018 - August 2020
Cross Damper
Combination of brake
damper and oil damper
- Improve seismic performance and provide a damping effect with a small footprint.
- Provide a damping effect from small and medium-sized earthquakes to large earthquakes.
- 18 Cross dampers are set in the keep towers.
March 2021
Restoration of the keep towers are completed
2037Expected completion of restoration of the entire castle