Obi Castle (Obi-jo) and Yoshokan Samurai Villa

Obi Castle stood as the seat of the Ito clan, who governed the Obi Domain in present-day Nichinan City, Miyazaki Prefecture, from 1587 until the abolition of the domain system in 1871. Known as the 'Little Kyoto of Kyushu,' the castle town preserves stone ramparts, a restored main gate (Otemon), and the Yoshokan, a former samurai residence built in 1889 for the Ito family after the castle's main keep was dismantled during the Meiji-era castle abolition. The site reflects Edo-period (1603-1868) feudal architecture, with terraced stone walls, a reconstructed turret, and the surrounding Iiyamaguchi samurai quarter of preserved earthen-walled lanes and clan-retainer houses. Rather than a rebuilt keep, Obi Castle presents its history primarily through the stone foundations, walls, and the Yoshokan villa, which retains original Meiji-period tatami rooms, a formal garden, and family artifacts. Curatorially, the site guides visitors chronologically from the Sengoku-era origins of the Ito clan's rule, through two centuries of Edo-period domain administration, to the Meiji Restoration's dismantling of the castle. The Otemon gate was reconstructed in 1978 based on historical records and photographs, and the surrounding stone walls have been stabilized and partially restored while retaining their original Edo-period masonry. The samurai quarter lanes outside the castle grounds remain largely as they were laid out in the Edo period, lined with hedges and low stone walls, giving visitors a sense of the town's feudal-era street plan alongside the castle ruins themselves.