Matsumae Castle

Matsumae Castle (松前城, Matsumae-jō) is a castle located in Matsumae, Hokkaido, Japan, and is the northernmost castle in Japan.^[1] The only traditional style Edo period castle in Hokkaidō, it was the chief residence of the han (estate) of the Matsumae clan.

Matsumae Castle 松前城
Matsumae, Hokkaidō, Japan
Site information
Type	Hirajiro (flatland castle)
Condition	The original gate to the inner citadel (itself a reconstruction) and remnants of the stone walls and embankments remain
Location
Matsumae Castle 松前城 Show map of Hokkaido Matsumae Castle 松前城 Show map of Japan
Coordinates	41°25′47″N 140°06′30″E
Height	Three stories
Site history
Built	1606
Built by	Matsumae clan
In use	1596 to Meiji Restoration
Materials	Earth, stone, and wood
Demolished	1949

History

First built in 1606 by daimyo Matsumae Yoshihiro under orders from the Tokugawa shogunate, which required his clan to defend the area, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" to the north. It burned down in 1637 but was rebuilt in 1639. It once controlled all passage through Hokkaidō to the rest of Japan.

The present castle complex, which dates from 1854, was constructed to deter attacks by foreign naval forces. Only the 30-metre-high tenshu (main tower) and a gatehouse survived destruction following the Meiji Restoration, which began in 1868. However, the tenshu burned down in 1949 and a concrete replica was built in 1960.^[2]

Today, the castle site is now a public park.

Festivals

Approximately 8,000 cherry trees are planted in Matsumae Park, which is approximately 150,000 m² around the site of Matsumae Castle. More than 200,000 people visit the Matsumae Sakura Festival every spring to see cherry blossoms.^[3]

Since 1984, the "Matsumae Castle Age Festival" has been held in August.^[4]

See also

• Goryōkaku – a star fort constructed in the Bakumatsu era