The Smallest Castle in the World created in Japan

A 0.217mm model of Fukuyama Castle has been created by a precision metal parts manufacturer in that city in western Japan to be as small as the thickness of a strand of hair and with the same exterior design as its original.

In Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Castem Co. created a 1/170,000 scale miniature model of the royal tower of the city’s castle using a special 3D printer in cooperation with the Kyoto University of Advanced Sciences at the Kyoto city.

Yuki Toda, a 34-year-old general manager of the company’s new business division, explained, “We infused the playful side of manufacturing into the world’s smallest model of Fukuyama Castle.”

Castem has advanced metal casting and precision processing technology and has used 3D data to reproduce stainless steel models of paper cranes folded by the late Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He also made a 1/250 scale Fukuyama castle keychain.

For the past two years, the company has been working together with the Kyoto University of Advanced Sciences to develop technology in the fields of 3D scanning and materials as well as to produce medical supplies.

The miniature model of Fukuyama Castle was made to be about the same size as the thickness of a strand of hair using the university’s 3D printer and a special resin, coating its surface with platinum. By looking at the model under a microscope, you can see the precision and detail of each of the tiles and stone walls of the castle.

If the material is further processed, it is apparently possible to reproduce Fukuyama Castle with a height of 0.2 micrometers, which is 1000 times smaller than the current miniature model. Fukuyama Mayor Naoki Edahiro was impressed after looking at the model under a microscope, saying, “It’s encouraging to see Fukuyama’s high-end technology on display. I want to display it at the Fukuyama Castle Museum, which will open after the renovation 400 years after the castle was built”.