Matsuyama Castle (Iyo)

Matsuyama Castle 松山城
Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan
Matsuyama Castle Tower (tenshu)
Type	Japanese castle
Site information
Condition	Largely intact
Site history
Built	1603
Built by	Kato Yoshiaki

Matsuyama Castle (松山城, Matsuyama-jō) is a flatland-mountain castle that was built in 1603 on Mount Katsuyama, whose height is 132 meters, in Matsuyama city in Ehime Prefecture (the former Iyo Province). It is not to be confused with Bitchū Matsuyama Castle.

History

This castle was originally built by Kato Yoshiaki in 1603. It had a large five-story tenshu, or keep, which was moved to Aizu Castle when Kato was transferred there in 1627. The next lord, Tadachika Gamoh, died in 1635, shortly after completing the ninomaru. After Tadachika, Matsudaira Sadayuki became the new lord. He completed a new Castle Tower (tenshu) in 1642. His heirs continued to rule the castle after his death. However, on New Years Day, 1784, this Castle Tower (tenshu) was struck by lightning and burned down. The current Castle Tower (tenshu) was built between 1820 and 1854. The castle survived the Meiji restoration, but parts of it were destroyed by bombing from American forces during World War II. Since 1966, the city of Matsuyama has been working to restore the castle.

Today

In Matsuyama, the Castle Tower (tenshu), or the main building of the castle can be seen from almost all places. The castle is accessible from the city central via Matsuyamajo Ropeway, a chairlift, or on foot.

Photo gallery

The Castle Mountain views
The view from Matsuyama Castle Tower
The Matsuyama castle Ropeway&Chairlift
An aerial view of Matsuyama Castle (1974)

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. p. 200 pages. ISBN 0-87011-766-1.
Mitchelhill, Jennifer (2013). Castles of the Samurai:Power & Beauty. USA: Kodansha. ISBN 978-1568365121.

External links

Matsuyama Castle (Matsuyama City official site)

Coordinates: 33°50′44″N 132°45′57″E / 33.845539°N 132.765722°E / 33.845539; 132.765722

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matsuyama Castle (Iyo).

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

Kyūshū^a	Fukuoka Ōno Nagoya Yoshinogari site Saga Hirado Shimabara Kumamoto Hitoyoshi Funai Oka Obi Kagoshima Nakijin Nakagusuku Shuri

^a including Okinawa.

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