Matsumae Castle

Matsumae Castle 松前城
Matsumae, Hokkaido, Japan
Matsumae Castle
Type	Hirajiro (flatland castle)
Height	Three stories
Site information
Condition	The gate to the inner citadel and remains of stone walls and embankments remain.
Site history
Built	1606
Built by	Matsumae clan
In use	1596 to Meiji Restoration
Materials	Earth, stone, and wood
Demolished	1949

Matsumae Castle (松前城, Matsumae-jō) is a castle located in Matsumae in Hokkaido, Japan, and is the northernmost castle in Japan.^[1] It was the home of the Matsumae Han of the Matsumae clan. It is perhaps the only traditional style Edo period castle in Hokkaidō.

History

Built in 1606 by Matsumae Yoshihiro, it burned down in 1637 but was rebuilt in 1639. Later, modern defences were built on the site in 1850. The donjon of Matsumae Castle was 30 metres (98 ft) high. In 1875, the administrative building, three turrets, and an artillery position were torn down, before the remaining donjon and main gate burned down in 1949; it is now all a park.

It once controlled all passengers through Hokkaidō to the rest of Japan.

See also

• Goryōkaku castle: A star fort constructed in Bakumatsu era

References

Literature

• Schmorleitz, Morton S. (1974). Castles in Japan. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co. ISBN 0-8048-1102-4. 
• Motoo, Hinago (1986). Japanese Castles. Tokyo: Kodansha. pp. 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1. 

Coordinates: 41°25′47″N 140°06′30″E / 41.429833°N 140.108389°E / 41.429833; 140.108389

100 Fine Castles of Japan by region Hokkaidō Nemuro Peninsula Chashiato Goryōkaku Matsumae Tōhoku Hirosaki Ne Morioka Sendai Taga Kubota Yamagata Nihonmatsu Aizuwakamatsu Komine Kantō Mito Banna-ji Minowa Kanayama Hachigata Kawagoe Sakura Edo Hachiōji Odawara Tsutsujigasaki Kōfu Matsushiro Ueda Komoro Matsumoto Takatō Shibata Kasugayama Chūbu Takaoka Nanao Kanazawa Maruoka Ichijōdani Iwamura Gifu Yamanaka Sunpu Kakegawa Inuyama Nagoya Okazaki Nagashino Iga Ueno Matsuzaka Kansai Odani Hikone Azuchi Kannonji Nijō Osaka Chihaya Takeda Sasayama Akashi Himeji Akō Takatori Wakayama Chūgoku Tottori Matsue Gassantoda Tsuwano Tsuyama Bitchū Matsuyama Ki Okayama Fukuyama Yoshida-Kōriyama Hiroshima Iwakuni Hagi Shikoku Tokushima Takamatsu Marugame Imabari Matsuyama Yuzuki Ōzu Uwajima Kōchi Kyūshūa Fukuoka Ōno Nagoya Yoshinogari site Saga Hirado Shimabara Kumamoto Hitoyoshi Funai Oka Obi Kagoshima Nakijin Nakagusuku Shuri a including Okinawa.