A true hirajiro, or flatland castle, Saga-jō was established in the heart of Saga Domain by Nabeshima Katsushige in 1608. Construction of the castle was completed in 1611, after which it became the main residence of the Nabeshima clan. A fire in 1726 reduced nearly the entire site to ashes and the tenshu was never rebuilt. Although the Nino-maru was reconstructed as the center of administration just two years after, it took over a hundred years for the main palace to be rebuilt, following another disastrous fire in 1838. The Saga Rebellion in 1874 saw renewed destruction, but the main enclosure survived more or less intact only to be relocated and used as an elementary school in 1909. In 2004, a complete replica of the Hon-maru was finished using traditional materials, marking the largest wooden castle reconstruction in the country. The rear of the reconstruction can be seen in this photograph, with the tenshu-dai (donjon foundations) visible to the upper left.