Matsumoto Castle

Coordinates: 36°14′20″N 137°58′09″E / 36.23889°N 137.96917°E / 36.23889; 137.96917
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Matsumoto Castle
松本城
Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
The keep
Matsumoto Castle is located in Japan
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto Castle
Coordinates36°14′20″N 137°58′09″E / 36.23889°N 137.96917°E / 36.23889; 137.96917
TypeHirashiro (flatland castle)
Site information
ConditionOriginal keep (tenshu) and inner walls survive, several gates have been rebuilt since 1960
Site history
BuiltCurrent structures date from 1594; 430 years ago (1594)
Built byShimadachi Sadanaga
In use1504; 520 years ago (1504) to 1868; 156 years ago (1868)
MaterialsEarth, stone, and wood
DemolishedOuter castle was taken down and the land reclaimed in the Meiji Restoration

Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō), originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of

Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture
.

The

National Treasure of Japan, and is one of the twelve surviving tenshu in Japan.[1] It is surrounded by 4 buildings which have also been designated as National Treasures.[2]

Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle 平城 (hirajiro) because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain.[1] Its complete defences would have included an extensive system of inter-connecting walls, moats, and gatehouses.[1]

History

Matsumoto Castle in winter

The castle's origins go back to the

shugō of Shinano Province, Shimadachi Sadanaga of the Ogasawara clan during the Eisho era (1504-1520). This minor border post was originally called Fukashi Castle. In 1550 it was seized by the Takeda clan following the Siege of Fukashi
.

Takeda Shingen appointed his retainer Baba Nobuharu as castellan. The castle was the Takeda field headquarters for their conquest of the Matsumoto Basin and as a redoubt in the constant conflict between the Takeda and the powerful Uesugi clan to the north. Following the defeat of the Takeda clan by Oda Nobunaga in 1582, the castle was surrendered to Oda Nagamasu. It was soon reassigned to Kiso Yoshimasa.

With the assassination of Oda Nobunaga in 1582, the castle was seized by Ogasawara Dosetsuzai with the backing of Uesugi Kagekatsu. His nephew, Ogasawara Sadayoshi, later pledged fealty to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and renamed the castle "Matsumoto Castle".

Following

Odawara in 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu was transferred from his ancestral domains to the Kantō region, and Ishikawa Kazumasa was placed in charge of Matsumoto. Kazumasa and his son Yasunaga built the tower and other parts of the castle, including the three towers: the tenshu and the small yagura in the northwest, both begun in 1590, and the Watari Yagura, the residence, the drum gate, the black gate, the Tsukimi Yagura, the moat, the innermost bailey, the second bailey, the third bailey, and the sub-floors in the castle, much as they are today. They were also instrumental in laying out the castle town
and its infrastructure. It is believed much of the castle was completed by 1593–94.

During the

Meiji restoration
in 1868.

Preservation

The keep, leaning, prior to 1904

In 1872, the new

Meiji government ordered the destruction of all former feudal fortifications. Most of the castle structures were razed, and the outer grounds of Matsumoto Castle were sold off at auction for redevelopment.[1] When news broke that the tenshu was going to be demolished, an influential figure from Matsumoto, Ichikawa Ryōzō, along with residents from Matsumoto, started a campaign to save the building. Their efforts were rewarded when the tower was acquired by the city government.[3]

The daimyo residence in the Ni-no-Maru enclosure was also preserved for use as the prefectural office for Chikuma Prefecture. However, it was burned down in an act of arson in 1876, with only a storehouse dating from the end of the Edo period surviving.[4] At the time, Chikuma and Nagano prefectures were about to be merged to form modern-day Nagano Prefecture, and there was a controversy over where to locate the prefectural capital. The loss of this building decided the location in favor of Nagano city, and the Matsumoto District Court was built on the site in 1878.

In the late Meiji period the tenshu started to lean to one side. It was because of neglect coupled with a structural defect, but many people believed the tower leaned due to the curse of Tada Kasuke. He had been caught and executed for attempting to appeal unfair tax laws (Jōkyō uprising).[5] A local high school principal, Kobayashi Unari, decided to renovate the castle and appealed for funds. The castle underwent "the great Meiji renovation" between 1903 and 1913.

The castle was designated a National Historic Site in 1930. The five surviving original structures in the main keep complex ( Tenshu, Inui-ko-tenshu (small northern tower), Watari-yagura (roofed passage), Tatsumi-tsuke-yagura (southern wing), and Tsukimi-yagura (moon-viewing room) ) were designated as

National Treasures of Japan in 1952. This enabled access to government funding for a major restoration project from 1950 to 1955, during which these buildings were dismantled and rebuilt. The surviving storehouse from the Ni-no-Maru daimyo residence also still stands in the Ni-no-Maru.[6]

In 1990, the Kuromon-Ninomon (second gate of the Black Gate) and sodebei (side wall) were reconstructed. The square drum gate was reconstructed in 1999.

On April 6, 2006, Matsumoto Castle was selected as one of Japan's Top 100 Castles.[7]

Matsumoto Castle was damaged in a 5.4 magnitude earthquake on June 30, 2011. The quake caused approximately ten cracks in the inner wall of the main tower.[8]

There is a plan for restoring the soto-bori (outer moat), which was reclaimed for a residential zone.[9]

The second floor of the main keep features a gun museum, Teppo Gura, with a collection of guns, armor, and other weapons.[10]

Gallery

  • The Tenshu and Inui Kotenshu
    The Tenshu and Inui Kotenshu
  • The exterior of the castle c.1910
    The exterior of the castle c.1910
  • Kuromon (Black Gate)
    Kuromon (Black Gate)
  • Kuromon (Black Gate) different view
    Kuromon (Black Gate) different view
  • Inside Matsumoto castle
    Inside Matsumoto castle
  • Window for firing bows
    Window for firing
    bows
  • Matsumoto Castle keep complex as seen from inside the main enclosure.
    Matsumoto Castle keep complex as seen from inside the main enclosure.
  • The Inui Kotenshu (left), Tenshu (center) Tatsumi Tsukeyarua (right) and moat.
    The Inui Kotenshu (left), Tenshu (center) Tatsumi Tsukeyarua (right) and moat.
  • Inui Kotenshu and Tenshu as seen from the bridge.
    Inui Kotenshu and Tenshu as seen from the bridge.
  • Castle view from the main gate.
    Castle view from the main gate.
  • View of illuminated Matsumoto Castle
    View of illuminated Matsumoto Castle

See also

Literature

  • Benesch, Oleg and Ran Zwigenberg (2019). Japan's Castles: Citadels of Modernity in War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 375. .
  • De Lange, William (2021). An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles. Groningen: Toyo Press. pp. 600 pages. .
  • Mitchelhill, Jennifer (2013). Castles of the Samurai:Power & Beauty. USA: Kodansha. .
  • Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. .
  • Motoo, Hinago (1986). Japanese Castles. Tokyo: Kodansha. pp. 200 pages. .

(In Japanese)

  • Nakagawa, Haruo (2005). Zusetsu Kokuhō Matsumoto-Jō (National Treasure, Matsumoto Castle Illustrated).Issōsha Publishing

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Three Famous Castles of Japan". Kobayashi Travel Service. Archived from the original on 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  2. ^ https://www.matsumoto-castle.jp/eng/about/tower#:~:text=Designated%20National%20Treasure%20structures%2C%20the,and%20Tsukimi%20Tower%2C
  3. ^ Matsumoto City Official Website "Matsumoto Castle in History". Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  4. ^ https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001654040.pdf
  5. ^ "Side Stories of the Uprising". Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  6. ^ https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001654040.pdf
  7. ^ Japan Castle Foundation (in Japanese)
  8. ^ "M5.4 quake jolts Nagano Pref., injuring 8". Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  9. ^ Proposal presented by Matsumoto City (in Japanese)"(3)保存管理計画". Archived from the original on 2009-08-14. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
  10. ^ http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/nagano/matsumotojou.html Archived 2012-07-24 at the Wayback Machine Matsumoto Castle - Yamasa Institute, Japan Travel Guide

External links

Media related to Matsumoto Castle at Wikimedia Commons