Few things puff up local pride like a local hero. Sendai dotes on its "One-Eyed Dragon," warrior Date Masamune. Kagoshima loves its plump 19th-century rebel Saigo Takamori. And Kumamoto adores its old daimyo lord Kato Kiyomasa.
Like the other two, Kato was very much the tough guy. That is soon evident from his statue close to Kumamoto Castle. Only a tough guy could get away with Kato's huge, over-the-top, Halloween-style helmet without eliciting sniggers from those around. In Higo (present-day Kumamoto Prefecture), this hardened warrior was lord of all he surveyed. And after having wisely picked the winning side before the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (which cleared the way for the 264-year rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate, from 1603-1867), Kato was able to survey twice the amount of land in west-central Kyushu he had before, and call it his own -- courtesy of Tokugawa Ieyasu, de facto ruler of Japan after that battle.
In addition to being one of the top generals of his day, Kato was also one of the country's greatest castle architects. As might be guessed, the fortress that still dominates Kumamoto's city center was his handiwork, and was regarded as one of the three strongest citadels in the land.