Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō), originally known as Fukashi Castle, is a castle in city of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. It 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. The keep (天守閣, tenshukaku), 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 平城 (hirajiro) because it is not built on a hilltop or amid rivers, but on a plain. Its complete defences would have included an extensive system of inter-connecting walls, moats, and gatehouses. Built 50 years after the introduction of firearms in Japan, the castle is constructed with thick walls designed for gun warfare, and includes both rectangular firing windows for muskets (teppozama) as well as vertical firing windows for bows (yazama). Since 1988, the castle has been home to Matsumoto Castle Gun Museum, which hosts an exhibition on historical firearm warfare in Japan, based on a collection of guns donated to the city by Michishige Akahane, a local collector.

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