Matsushiro Castle

Matsushiro Castle 松代城
Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Matsushiro Castle moats and reconstructed gate
Coordinates	Coordinates: 36°33′58″N 138°11′46″E / 36.566°N 138.196°E / 36.566; 138.196
Type	flatland-style Japanese castle
Site information
Open to the public	yes
Condition	partially reconstructed
Site history
Built	1560
Built by	Takeda Shingen
In use	Edo period
Demolished	1872

Matsushiro Castle (松代城, Matsushiro-jō^?) is a Japanese castle located in former Matsushiro town, now part of the city of Nagano, northern Nagano Prefecture, Japan. At the end of the Edo period, Matsushiro Castle was home to the Sanada clan, daimyō of Matsushiro Domain. The site is a registered National Historic Site by the Japanese government.

Matsushiro Castle is located in the flatlands of northern Nagano, in between the main stream of the Chikuma River and an old bed of the river, which serves as a broad outer moat on the north side of the castle. Due to its location, the castle (and surrounding castle town was subjected to occasional flooding.

The design of the castle is concentric, with the Central Bailey (Hon-Maru) [1] protected by walls, and containing the donjon in its northwest corner, which was later replaced by a yagura. The Central Bailey was surrounded by a moat, which was in turn surrounded completely by the Second Bailey (Ni-no-Maru) [2], which had earthen ramparts except for areas around its gates. The Second Bailey had a wide dry moat [S] on its south and east, and the Third Bailey (San-no-Maru) [3]. The palace structures were located adjacent to the main fortifications in the Hana-no-Maru enclosure [H].

The first castle on this site was built in 1560 by Yamamoto Kansuke, under the direction of Takeda Shingen and was called Kaizu Castle (海津城, Kaizu-jō^?) Kōsaka Danjo, another senior Takeda retainer, was its first commander. Takeda Shingen used the castle for the ongoing conflict with Uesugi Kenshin for control of the northern part of Shinano Province. The site is also close to the location of the Battle of Kawanakajima, where the Takeda and Uesugi forces repeatedly clashed. After the fall of the Takeda clan, Oda Nobunaga eventually took control. However, when he was assassinated in the Honnō-ji incident in 1582, Uesugi Kagekatsu recovered northern Shinano. Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Uesugi were relocated to Aizu. Fooling Hideyoshi's death and the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shogunate ordered Sanada Nobuyuki to relocate here in 1622 from his former domains at Ueda as the daimyō of Matsushiro Domain.