Kushimazaki Groves
Written accounts from the Edo period (1603–1867) mention that trees almost obscured the castle’s main bailey and fortifications.Now, groves of old-growth trees partially conceal the walls on the southern and western sides of the Kushima Castle site.
Since the demolition of the castle in the nineteenth century the groves have been left to flourish and have reclaimed nearly 17 hectares of what were previously gardens around the enclosures of the castle.
Today, the groves are a Natural Monument of Nagasaki Prefecture and a refuge for birds.
The castle was razed after the political rule of the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end in 1867.
With the restoration of political power to the emperor, Japan began a process of modernization under the new Meiji government, and symbols of the shogunate, including many castles, were demolished.
The stone walls and some of the inner moats were all that remained, and the surrounding trees were left to grow unchecked.
The Kushimazaki Groves include evergreen trees such as castanopsis, camphor, horse-chestnut, blue oak, rowan, and the Japanese silver tree.In the dense undergrowth, it is possible to spot hollyhocks, wormwood shrubs, and Japanese blackberries, as well as perennial ground cover plants such as white lilyturf and creeping lilyturf.
The groves are a haven for a wide range of birds.
Species that find shelter in the groves include the Japanese pygmy woodpecker, which is endemic to southern Japan, the Japanese green pigeon, the Eurasian magpie, and the warbling white-eye.
The groves are preserved in their natural state.
