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Guide to Japanese Castles

Matsue Castle

松江城

Matsue Castle donjon
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Alternate Name chidori-jo
Founder Horio Yoshiharu
Year 1611
Type Hilltop
Structure 5 levels, 6 floors
Condition Original
Admin's Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Historical Site National Historic Site
Historical Value Top 100 Castles, Important Cultural Properties
Historical Artifacts Important Cultural Properties:
tenshu
Location Matsue, Shimane Pref.
Map Google Map
Access Matsue Station (San'in line)
Website Matsue City Sightseeing Page
Notes This is an original castle and very high on my list of castles I want to visit.
History Horio Yoshiharu was awarded the lands around Izumo for his participation in the Battle of Sekigahara. After 3 generations of Horio rule and one of Kyogoku, the castle was passed to one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandson's Matsudaira Naomasa. The Matsudaira ruled for 234 years until the castle was dismantled during the Meiji Period. Fortunately, the main donjon you see above was saved.
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Viewer Comments

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  • Raymond    July 31, 2009 at 09:24 PM
    I went to this castle last Saturday. The weather was not the best, but it was and is a magnificent castle to visit. There are not a lot of the original towers and gates left, but the castle keep is an original wooden one, and one of the bigger ones out of the original twelve castles left in Japan. The museum inside is very good with lots of armour, weapons, and period model of the castle on display. There are three reconstructed turrets based on old B&W photos and original designs. Here is a bit of travel advice. If you are non-Japanese, buy your ticket from the ticket window and not the machine at Ichi no Mon Gate. Show the staff your gaijin card or passport, and entry to the castle is half price. It's nice to get something back for all the taxes I pay in this country. This policy applies to some of the other major sightseeing spots in Matsue City, too. To get to Matsue Castle, buy the one day pass for the Matsue Lake Line Bus. It is a tourist mini-bus painted in red with wooden paneling inside. You can't miss it. There is a bus stop for it outside Matsue JR Station. The one day pass cost 500yen and departure is every 20 minutes or so.
  • Lynden C    January 15, 2009 at 06:23 PM
    When I lived in Izumo since there was very little to do there I'd often come to Matsue to do my shopping or go to parties. Matsue-jp is well worth a visit. They have a good selection of Kabuto and Nihonga. Also Matsue-jo contains all it's original timbers and foundations so walking around is a real treat. Just be warned if you go in winter it's absolutely freezing inside. While at Matsue-jo I recommend slipping around the back and visiting the home of Kwaidan author Lefcardio Hern. (Yakumo Koizumi)