Matsuyama Castle

Background

Matsuyama Castle (Iyo Matsuyama Castle, also called Kinki Castle and Katsuyama Castle) stands around the summit of Mount Katsuyama (Shiroyama) in central Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, inside Shiroyama Park. It is not the same castle as Bitchu Matsuyama Castle in Okayama Prefecture. The present main keep is a linked tower-style keep: the main keep is joined to the small keep and the south and north corner turrets by connecting turrets, forming a keep complex. The climbing stone walls (nobori-ishigaki) linking the Ninomaru and the Honmaru are a defensive feature. From the top floor of the keep you can look out over the city and toward the Seto Inland Sea. Twenty-one buildings, including the main keep, are National Important Cultural Properties, and the castle remains are a National Historic Site. The present main keep is the third-generation keep, rebuilt in the late Edo period, with three tiers, three floors, and one basement level in a linked layout; it is the newest of the twelve surviving keeps. Built under the shogunal-relative Matsudaira family, it is the only one of the twelve surviving keeps built by a shogunal-relative (shinpan) house, which is why its roof tiles bear the three-leaf hollyhock crest. Arson in 1933, an air raid in 1945, and a fire in 1949 destroyed many buildings; 21 survive today, and 22 more have been reconstructed in wood.

Local customs

• Ride the ropeway or chairlift to Shinonome-guchi, then walk up to the Honmaru
• go inside the main keep to see its wooden structure and look out over the city from the top floor
• visit the Ninomaru Historic Garden and the Sannomaru Horinouchi area
• the first floor of the keep has a free armor try-on corner (subject to on-site conditions).

Travel tips

• Keep admission and the ropeway and chairlift are charged separately, with fees at the usual sightseeing level
• details follow official information. Visiting the keep takes a while, so allow plenty of time
• in December the castle closes on a scheduled cleaning day, with details subject to official announcements. Spring cherry blossoms in Shiroyama Park are the signature season (it is one of Japan's 100 best cherry-blossom spots), autumn leaves set off the keep, the keep in snow is a winter highlight, and in summer you should bring water and sun protection for the climb
• flowering and foliage times depend on the year.
• Take the Iyo Railway city tram to Okaido Station, then walk about 5 minutes to Shinonome-guchi Station of the Matsuyama Castle ropeway
• ride the ropeway or chairlift up, or walk up from Shinonome-guchi. From Matsuyama Airport, take the airport bus to the Okaido stop
• the Botchan train also stops at Okaido Station, with schedules subject to official information.