Confidence
| Field | Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Castle name | 98% | Center calligraphy clearly reads 福岡城 (Fukuoka-jō) in bold black brush; top-right inscription reads 国史跡 (national historic site) — Fukuoka Castle was designated a national historic site in 1957. The purple 藤巴 (fuji-domoe / wisteria-comma) crest at center is the documented Kuroda-clan crest used on Fukuoka Castle gojōin. |
| Stamp type | 99% | The artistic gold/orange watercolor wash + Kuroda crest + red bell-shape (a stylized roof-tile motif) + format with blank Reiwa date = textbook Fukuoka Castle limited gojōin layout. |
| Date | 0% | The date column reads 「令和 年 月 日」 with the year, month, and day characters all blank. This is sold pre-printed and not custom-dated. The user likely received it shortly after Katō Jinja (21 March 2025) on the same Kyushu trip — most plausibly 22 March 2025. |
Identification
- Name (Japanese): 福岡城 (also 舞鶴城 / Maizuru-jō historically)
- Name (Romanized): Fukuoka-jō (Fukuoka Castle)
- Stamp type: 御城印 (gojōin / castle stamp) — not a religious goshuin
- Issuing point: 福岡城むかし探訪館 (Fukuoka-jō Mukashi-Tanbōkan) and 鴻臚館跡展示館 (Kōrokan-ato Tenjikan), Maizuru Park, Chūō Ward, Fukuoka
- Location: Maizuru Park, Chūō Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
- Original price: 300 yen
- Date received: Date column intentionally blank; trip context places this around 22 March 2025
Reading the gojōin
| Element | Reading | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 国史跡 | Kuni-shiseki — "national historic site" | Top right, brush |
| 福岡城 | Fukuoka-jō — castle name | Center, large bold brush |
| 藤巴紋 (wisteria-comma crest, purple) | Kuroda-clan family crest | Center, large purple stamp |
| 鬼瓦 (red, demon-tile motif) | Stylized castle roof-tile | Right of center, small red stamp |
| 令和 年 月 日 | Reiwa __ year __ month __ day (blank) | Left column |
| Artist signature/seal | Bottom-left, signature with red oval seal | Bottom-left |
| Gold/orange watercolor wash | Background | Whole sheet |
About Fukuoka Castle
Fukuoka Castle was built between 1601 and 1607 by Kuroda Nagamasa (黒田長政, 1568–1623), the first daimyo of Fukuoka Domain, after he was awarded the 520,000-koku Chikuzen fief by Tokugawa Ieyasu following the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), where Nagamasa fought on the eastern (Tokugawa) side. The castle stood on the site of the former Kōrokan (鴻臚館), a Heian-period diplomatic guest house that had hosted Chinese and Korean envoys — the foundations of the Kōrokan are now an open archaeological site adjacent to the castle remains.
Nagamasa's father, Kuroda Yoshitaka / Josui (黒田如水, 1546–1604), also known as Kanbei, was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's chief strategist and one of the most famous tactical minds of the Sengoku era. The clan crest, the 藤巴 (fuji-domoe / wisteria-comma) seen as the central purple emblem on this gojōin, was reportedly granted to Josui by his patron Kuroda Mototaka.
The castle was largely demolished in the Meiji Restoration (1873), with most buildings dismantled and only stone walls, the Tamon-yagura turret, and a few gates surviving. The grounds became Maizuru Park (舞鶴公園), and the area was designated a national historic site in 1957. The castle's nickname 舞鶴城 (Maizuru-jō / "Dancing Crane Castle") comes from its cranelike layout when viewed from above.
About this gojōin variant
Fukuoka City offers multiple gojōin variants, including:
- A standard pre-printed version with the 藤巴 crest in purple (this scan)
- A clear / transparent gojōin (sold seasonally as a limited variant)
- A second version with different watercolor backgrounds released in subsequent printings
The 鬼瓦 (demon-tile) red stamp echoes architectural details of the surviving Tamon-yagura. Sold for 300 yen at the 福岡城むかし探訪館 (Fukuoka-jō Mukashi-Tanbōkan) inside Maizuru Park, this gojōin is one of the more affordable in the Kyushu castle-stamp circuit.
Goshuin vs. gojōin
This is a 御城印 (gojōin) issued by the Fukuoka City heritage shop, not a 御朱印. Gojōin are a recent collecting tradition (popularized 2010s onward) that mimic the goshuin format but are commercial commemorative items rather than religious worship records. Most goshuincho holders mix gojōin and goshuin freely in the same book.
Sources
- Fukuoka Castle official page (国史跡): https://fukuokajyo.com/historic/fukuokajo/
- Fukuoka Castle gojōin sale info: https://nomichi.me/fukuokajo/
- Kojōdan Fukuoka Castle gojōin: https://kojodan.jp/castle/92/memo/4770.html
- Fukuoka Castle 御城印 standard v2: https://collection.kojodan.jp/gojyoin/item/1441/
- Fukuoka Castle visit & gojōin overview: https://www.nippoh-goshuin.net/2024/01/29/