Nakatsu-jō was begun in 1587 by Kuroda Yoshitaka after he was ordered to relocate to the area by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The castle was later completed by daimyō Hosokawa Tadaoki, who went on to build Kokura-jō (which then became his main fortress). As also in the case of Kokura Castle, Nakatsu-jō passed into the hands of the Ogasawara clan, which went on to rule the area for 85 years. From 1717 the castle came under the control of the Okudaira clan, which held it until 1871 when they donated the territory to the new Meiji government. While the main structures were maintained under the new government, the castle was burned to the ground in 1877 during the Satsuma Rebellion, which rocked Kyūshū in the early Meiji Era. The present, pictured reconstruction was completed in 1964.