Go along the former Oshu Road to the north until you get near Abukuma River, and look back to the left, you will see another great scenery. It is 180m long stone walls on a hill along the river, called Komine Castle Eastern Stone Walls.
Features
Walking around Main Enclosure
If you want to see other attractions of the castle, you can get out of the main enclosure through the ruins of Sakura-no-mon (meaning the cherry gate) to walk around the stone walls of the enclosure on the belt enclosure, the lower tier of the main portion. The ruins of Tsukimi-Yagura (meaning the moon viewing turret) are in front of the gate ruins of the enclosure, which look very strong with their remaining stone wall base.
The map around the main enclosure
The ruins of Sakura-no-mon GateThe entrance of the belt enclosureThe ruins of Tsukimi Turret seen from the second enclosure belowThe back of the Tsukimi Turret Ruins
The belt enclosure surrounds the western and northern sides of the main enclosure. You can feel relaxed by walking on the belt enclosure, while enjoying looking at the great, long and high stone walls of the main enclosure. These stone walls look well-maintained. However, they collapsed heavily during Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and were repaired by Shirakawa City for the following eight years (completed in 2019).
The western part of the belt enclosureThe great stone walls of the main enclosureThe northern part of the belt enclosureThe explanation board of the stone walls being destroyed by the earthquake and repaired later on
You will eventually reach the other gate ruins of the belt enclosure, called Ya (arrow)-no-mon. You can see a great view of the three-level turret at the northeastern edge of the main enclosure on the right. However, if you were an enemy, the defenders would attack you through the turret’s machicolations and loopholes facing you.
The ruins of Ya-no-mon GateThe turret seems to look targeting you
Going to Outside of Castle
Another recommendation for you is to visit the former third enclosure, which is the east of the main portion. It has turned into the city area mainly including public facilities. There is only one remaining castle building among the area, the Taiko-Yagura Turret, which was originally used beside the Taiko-mon Gate in the second enclosure. It was moved to a private sector, converted to a tea room, and finally moved to the current position where it has been since 1930.
The map around the castle
The Taiko Turret has become a tea room
If you go further to the east until the National Route 294 (the former Oshu Road), go along the road to the north until you get near Abukuma River, and look back to the left, you will see another great scenery. It is 180m long stone walls on a hill along the river, called Komine Castle Eastern Stone Walls. In fact, they were recently discovered when the pine trees on the hill were cut down for the bypass road constructions. They must have been built to protect the castle from the threats from the north. These stone walls connect to the back gate of the castle, which opens to the north, but you can’t go directly to the gate due to the construction site between them.
Komine Castle Eastern Stone WallsLooking the stone walls from the bridge over the Abukuma RiverNo entry is allowed around the stone walls due to the constructionsThe ruins of the back gate
My Impression
While visiting the well-remaining structures and restored buildings of Shirakawa-Komine Castle, I felt the strong intentions of Nagashige Niwa, the builder of them, to protect the castle from possible enemies from the north. He must have been one of the few lords to do it properly and quickly. I also think that the history during the Boshin War lets us to know that such a strong castle had a weak point and could not survive without enough soldiers and proper instructions
The three-level turret seen from Abukuma River, north of the castle
How to get There
If you want to visit there by car, it is about a 10-minute drive away from Shirakawa-Chuo Smart IC on the Tohoku Expressway. There is a parking lot in the park. By public transportation, the castle is very near the JR Shirakawa station. You can even see the nice view of the three-level turret from the platform. From Tokyo to the station: Get the Tohoku Shinkansen super express and transfer to the Tohoku Line at Shin-Shirakawa Station. The destination will be the next station.
The castle ruins seen from the platform of the station
When you arrive at Matsumoto Castle, in the present time, the first thing you have to do is to enjoy its Main Tower. It is one of the only two remaining five-level Main Towers, followed by Himeji Castle, one of the five Main Towers of Japan’s National Treasures, and one of the twelve remaining Main Towers.
Features
When you arrive at Matsumoto Castle, in the present time, the first thing you have to do is to enjoy its Main Tower. It is one of the only two remaining five-level Main Towers, followed by Himeji Castle, one of the five Main Towers of Japan’s National Treasures (the previous two plus Hikone, Inuyama and Matsue Castles), and one of the twelve remaining Main Towers.
The Main Tower of Matsumoto CastleThe Main Tower of Himeji CastleThe Main Tower of Hikone CastleThe Main Tower of Inuyama CastleThe Main Tower of Matsue Castle
Beautiful but Strong Main Tower
It may be a good idea to walk around the inner moat surrounding the main enclosure to enjoy a beautiful view of the tower before entering it. The width of the moat in front of the tower is about 60m. It would make enemies shooting up from the side ineffective but defenders shooting down from the tower more effective at that time. In addition, if the enemies could swim across the moat to the tower, they would be heavily counterattacked by the defenders through its defense systems such as machicolations and loopholes.
The aerial photo around the castle
The inner moat in front of the Main TowerA machicolation and loopholes near the entrance of the tower
Reasons for Black Main Tower
The black-looking Main Tower of Matsumoto Castle (sometimes called “Crow Castle”) is often compared with the Himeji castle’s painted white clearly by contrast. Its black appearance comes from its wooden side walls covered with special Japanese lacquer, which could withstand harsh weathers. Himeji Castle is covered in plaster, which make it look white, and it is newer than Matsumoto Castle. It is said that using plaster on all walls of a castle would not effectively protect against the rain when Matsumoto Castle was built. That meant the improvements in wall painting techniques occurred between the building of the two castles. Another possible reason for the using the black walls is that wooden walls are stronger than plaster walls against the cold winter of inland area like the Matsumoto Basin.
If you look up at the Main Tower, you can see its each level is covered with plaster in the upper part and wooden walls in the lower partHimeji Castle, a representative of white castles
Some also say black was a favorite color of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, while white was the color which Ieyasu Tokugawa often used for his castles when Himeji Castle was built. Anyway, these speculations are enjoyable to see the contrast.
Hideyoshi’s Main Tower of Osaka Castle, from “The summer campaign of the siege of Osaka folding screens”, owned by Osaka Castle Museum (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)Nagoya Castle, another representative of white castle, during Ieyasu’s period
Unique Lookout Tower
The Main Tower of Matsumoto Castle actually consists of the large main tower, the Inui small main tower, and three turrets (Watari Yagura, Tatsumi-Tsuke Yagura and Tsukimi Yagura) which are connected to each other. This is called “multiple attached style”. The large one is generally considered “the Main Tower”. The tower has five levels but six floors inside. This type of the tower is called the lookout tower type, which refers to a small lookout tower on a large turret. In the case of Matsumoto Castle, the turret part is the first and second floors and the fifth and top floors is the tower part, binding the middle part of the third and fourth floors. However, the third floor is built as the attic of the turret part, with no roof. That’s why the numbers of its levels and floors are different.
(From the left) The Inui small main tower, (simple) Watari Turret, the large main tower, Tatsumi Turret, and Tsukimi Turret)
In addition, the Main Tower has a striking appearance for a lookout tower. One of the reasons for this is that the top floor doesn’t have a veranda, which lookout towers usually had, and is covered with walls. The fact is that it had been first planned to have a veranda, but was changed to its current state during construction. As a result, the tower looks a little top-heavy.
The top level is covered with the walls, which looks a little top-heavy.
Matsumoto Castle is located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, which is known for its wonderful remaining five-level Main Tower. Matsumoto Basin, in which the city is located, has also been known for abundant springs flowing from the surrounding mountains since Ancient Times (we can still see many wells in the city area).
Location and History
Ogasawara Clan is driven away from Castle, but is waiting for their long-cherished plan to revive
Matsumoto Castle is located in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, which is known for its wonderful remaining five-level Main Tower. Matsumoto Basin, in which the city is located, has also been known for abundant springs flowing from the surrounding mountains since Ancient Times (we can still see many wells in the city area). That’s why the area was originally called “Fukase” or “Fukashi” which seem to have meant “waters running deep”. The Ogasawara Clan, which became the governor of Shinano Province (now Nagano Pref.), was based in this area during the Middle Ages. Many battles occurred during the Sengoku Period, and Ukon Shimadate, who was a retainer of the clan, built Fukashi Castle (the former Matsumoto Castle) in 1504 to protect the clan’s home, Hayashi Castle. However, they were driven away by the Takeda Clan in 1550, following the Siege of Fukashi.
The range of Matsumoto City and the location of the castle
A well in the city area (at Nishibori Park)Another well maybe naneless
The Takeda Clan fortified Fukashi Castle to be a defensive stronghold even on the flat lands of the basin. The clan had the castle surrounded by tripled water moats. The lands inside the moats were called (from the center) the main, second, and third enclosures. The flow of the Metoba River was diverted to run alongside the outer moat, which made the castle more defensive. The clan also improved the gates of the castle by adding Umadashi systems in front of them. The system refers to a small round enclosure connected by a narrow path to the gate. It was a defense system created and frequently used by the clan. It was said that the basic structures of the castle was completed by the Takeda Clan. However, the castle was still basically made of soil at this point.
The miniature model of Matsumoto Castle during the Edo Period, exhibited by Matsumoto City MuseumThe few remaining outer moat of the eastern part of the castleThe few remaining earthen walls inside the outer moat, at Nishibori-dorui (the western moat earthen walls) ParkThe Metoba RiverOne of the Umadashi systems in the miniature model above, however, they were all removed at the site
A chance for the Ogasawara Clan to revive suddenly came in 1582 when Nobunaga Oda defeated the Takeda Clan before he was also killed by Mitsuhide Akechi in the Honnoji Incident. Sadayoshi Ogasawara who served Ieyasu Tokugawa returned to Fukashi Castle the following year – for the first time in 33 years, his clan held the castle. He renamed the castle Matsumoto to celebrate the event. The new name was said to come from waiting (matsu) for his long-cherished plan (hon-kai, the Chinese symbol for “hon” is also pronounced “moto”). However, the situation rapidly changed. He and his master, Ieyasu were transferred to the Kanto Region in 1590 by the ruler, Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Hideyoshi gave the castle to Kazumasa Ishikawa who had been a senior vassal of Ieyasu but was acquired by Hideyoshi.
The family crest of the Ogasawara Clan, called Sankaibishi (triple diamonds) (licensed by Minamoto at fr.wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons)Kazumasa Ishikawa, drawn in the folding screens of “the Battle of Nagashino” (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Ishikawa Clan modernizes Castle by building Main Tower
Kazumasa started to modernize the castle using advanced techniques favoured by Hideyoshi, which was continued by his son, Yasunaga after Kazumasa’s death in 1592. Yasunaga built stone walls surrounding each enclosures, including the five-level Main Tower inside the main enclosure. He also replaced the Umadashi system of major gates with the Masugata system. The system refers to a defensive square space surrounded by stone walls and gated buildings. The gates were called Ote-mon (main gate) for the third enclosure, Taiko-mon (drum gate) for the second enclosure, and Kuro-mon (black gate) for the main enclosure. They were completed in 1594. However, local people suffered because of these rapid construction projects. A local legend says that when a worker, who had carried a huge stone for the Taiko-mon Gate, complained about it, Yasunaga heard about it and immediately executed him. Since then, the stone has been called Genba-ishi(stone). Genba was the name of Yasunaga’s official position.
The map around the castle
The main gate in the miniature model above, Metoba River is in front of itThe current main gate ruinsThe restored Taiko-mon GateThe Genba-ishi stone in the gateThe restored Kuro-mon Gate
The castle buildings were allowed to use roof tiles with gold leaf with the special permission of Hideyoshi. Such permission was only given to Hideyoshi’s relatives and trusted senior vassals. Other castles of the trusted vassals, which also used the golden roof tiles, were built around Ieyasu’s Kanto Region in places such as Komoro, Ueda, Kofu, Numata, and Sumpu Castle. These castles (including Matsumoto) formed the anti-Ieyasu network to monitor and threaten him. Yasumasa somehow survived even when Ieyasu gained power after Hideyoshi’s death (the golden roof tiles were then scraped). However, he was finally removed by Ieyasu in 1613. The reasons for this remain unclear, but it was possibly Ieyasu’s revenge against the Ishikawa Clan which had abandoned him.
The castles of anti-Ieyasu network
The ruins of Komoro CastleThe ruins of Ueda CastleThe ruins of Kofu CastleThe ruins of Numata CastleThe ruins of Sunpu Castle
Castle is completed with building Tsukimi Turret
After that, the Ogasawara Clan returned to the castle again but were soon transferred to Akashi Castle in 1617. The castle and the area around it, called the Matsumoto Domain, were followed by the shogun’s relatives and several hereditary feudal lords during the Edo Period. There were also a few important subsequent events for the castle. One of them occurred when Naomasa Matsudaira lived there. He heard about a plan of the shogun, Iemitsu Tokugawa, to visit the castle (though it would be canceled later) and added a new turret called Tsukimi (seeing the moon) Yagura to the Main Tower in 1634. So far, the tower had entirely been designed with battles in mind. This turret, however, was completely built for entertainment. The tower became what we see now, influenced by different tastes.
The portrait of Naomasa Matsudaira, owned by Gesshoji Temple (licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)The Tsukimi Turret (appearance)The Tsukimi Turret (interior)The Main Tower with the Tsukimi Turret on the right
The second occurred during the great fire of Matsumoto in 1727. The Main Hall next to the tower was burned down by the fire; the tower itself fortunately survived. People thought that a god called Nijurokuyashin (the god of the 26th night moon), which was worshiped in the tower, had saved it. In addition, the castle town prospered as the intersection of the Zenkoji Road (from north to south) and the Nomugi Road (from east to west). The town also had many guardhouses to make sure to prevent enemies from reaching the castle easily.
The ruins of the main enclosure main hallThe Nijurokuyashin God, which is still worshiped in the towerThe castle town in the miniature model aboveA guardhouse in the model
