, originally known as Fukashi Castle, is one of Japan's premier historic castles, along with Himeji and Kumamoto. It was the seat of Matsumoto Domain under the Edo Period Tokugawa shogunate. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture.

The , which was completed in the late sixteenth century, maintains its original wooden interiors and external stonework. It is listed as a National Treasure of Japan, and is one of the twelve surviving tenshu in Japan. It is surrounded by four other buildings also designated as National Treasures.

Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain.

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. 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). 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.

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.

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

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

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

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File:130608 Matsumoto Castle Matsumoto Nagano pref Japan01bs5.jpg|The Tenshu and Inui Kotenshu

File:MatsumotoCastleBaseball Circa 1910.jpg|The exterior of the castle c.1910

File:Kuro-mon Gate of Matsumoto Castle.jpg|Kuromon (Black Gate)

File:MatsumotoCastleGateMoat.jpg|Kuromon (Black Gate), a closer view

File:Matsumoto inside.JPG|Inside Matsumoto castle

File:Matsumoto window.jpg|Window for firing bows

File:Matsumoto Cstl inside Honmaru.jpg|Matsumoto Castle keep complex as seen from inside the main enclosure

File:Matsumoto castle 3.jpg|The Inui Kotenshu (left), Tenshu (center) Tatsumi Tsukeyarua (right) and moat

File:Matsumoto castle 5.jpg|Inui Kotenshu and Tenshu as seen from the bridge

File:Matsumoto castle 1.jpg|Castle view from the main gate

File:Matsumoto Castle2a.jpg

File:Matsumoto Castle3a.jpg

File:Matsumoto-Castle-night-view-2019-Luka-Peternel.jpg|View of illuminated Matsumoto Castle

File:Matsumoto Castle in 2019.jpg

</gallery>

See also

  • List of National Treasures of Japan (castles)
  • List of Historic Sites of Japan (Nagano)
  • Tourism in Japan

Literature

(In Japanese)

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

References

  • Matsumoto Castle Welcome Guide
  • Matsumoto Castle English Guide
  • Nagano Official Tourism Website - Matsumoto Castle
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20150926081141/http://ajapanesecastle.com/]- Interactive 3-D Matsumoto Castle by Professor Jon Amakawa of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
  • [http://hesomagazine.com/photographic/the-crow-castle-of-the-pine-forest-plateau/] Photography of Matsumoto Castle from Heso magazine