Shimabara Castle (Shimabara, Nagasaki)

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Shimabara Castle (島原城 Shimabara-jō), also known as Moritake Castle (森岳城 Moritake-jō) and Kōrai Castle (高来城 Korai-jō), is a Japanese castle located in Shimabara, Hizen Province (present day Nagasaki prefecture). This five-story white building stands in stark contrast to the black Kumamoto Castle in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture.
After the start of the national isolation policy, the Tokugawa Bakufu banned Christianity from 1614. Matsukura Shigemasa, who strictly enforced the prohibition against Christianity with mass executions, also severely raised taxes to pay for the construction of his new Shimabara Castle from 1618-1624. This oppression of the peasants was a major factor leading to the Shimabara Rebellion.