Japan · 16th century
Matsumoto Castle (松本城, Matsumoto-jō), originally known as Fukashi Castle, 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. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano Prefecture.
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.
Text adapted from “Matsumoto Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Matsumoto Castle ranks #112 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #8 of the 296 mapped in Japan. Founded 1504, it is older than 43% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 891 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 37,031 times in the last 60 days, more than 99% of the atlas. See how Japan compares in the castle statistics.
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