Bitchu Matsuyama Castle: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:25, 24 January 2025

Bitchu Matsuyama has a fairly small original main keep but at the top of a mountain overlooking the town it didn't need to be any bigger. It is quite a hike to the top of the mountain so if you want to save some time and energy you can take a taxi (~1800 yen) or walk to the park ride near the base o

History

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is well know as being the highest altitude castle in Japan at 480 meters. This was viewed as a strategic location was also viewed as valuable territory for a castle. Akiba Shigenobu first built Ohmatsuyama Castle on a nearby mountain in 1240. As unrest spread throughout the lands, the entire mountain was converted into a castle complex including a a castle on this site (Komatsuyama peak) In 1331 by Takahashi Muneyasu. In the Edo Period the other castles were abandoned and the fortifications on this site were developed into an Edo Period castle. This castle site also had the advantage of being seen from the town below, an important symbol for the domain. This was one of very few 2 level main keep, but being on top of the mountain, there was little need to build a high vantage point. After the Mizunoya there were several different lords until Itakura Katsuyoshi in 1744. His descendents continued to rule until the Meiji restoration.

Field Notes

Bitchu Matsuyama has a fairly small original main keep but at the top of a mountain overlooking the town it didn't need to be any bigger. It is quite a hike to the top of the mountain so if you want to save some time and energy you can take a taxi (~1800 yen) or walk to the park ride near the base of the mountain. It is available on weekends, holidays and during busy season. For my latest trip I used the park & ride and walked back down.

I revisited this site in Nov 2024 almost 10 years to the day of my first visit. The trees were a little bigger but nothing else had changed. This time armed with much more castle knowledge and some information about the extended fortifications and this castle's predecessor Ohmatsuyama Castle I spent much of the day scrambling around the top to find all the ruins I could and I still did not have enough time. Besides the ruins around the top of the mountain, the town is also a splendid castle town with 2 original samurai homes. One of the more impressive findings on this trip was also the string of temples that almost look like castles from a distance with high stone walls in multiple levels with clay walls atop them and pseudo-masugata looking gates. Visit the castle town album for details.

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Gallery

More Galleries and Feature Pages

Outer Baileys

(43 photos)

Castle Town

(33 photos)

Castle Profile
English Name	Bitchu Matsuyama Castle
Japanese Name	備中松山城
Alternate Names	Takahashi Castle, Komatsuyama Castle
Founder	Mizunoya Sakyonosuke Katsumune
Year Founded	1683
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Original main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, has Important Cultural Properties, Top 100 Mountaintop Castles, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	2 levels, 2 stories
Artifacts	tenshu, Nijuu Yagura, San no Hirayagura East Wall
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, samurai homes, trenches, stone walls, walls, castle town
Visitor Information
Access	Bitchu Takahashi Station (Hakubi Line); 1260 taxi
Hours	Open 9-17:30 (April-Sept); 9-16:30 (Oct-Mar)
Time Required	120 mins
URL	Castle Website
Location	Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture
Coordinates	34.80891, 133.62219
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2004
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	2010, 2024
Admin Visits	November 20, 2010; November 22, 2024

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4.59

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@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 |Japanese Name=備中松山城
 |Romaji Name=Bitchu Matsuyama-jo
-|Alternate Names=Takahashi Castle
+|Alternate Names=Takahashi Castle, Komatsuyama Castle
 |Founder=Mizunoya Sakyonosuke Katsumune
 |Year Founded=1683
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 |Features=main keep, gates, turrets, samurai homes, trenches, stone walls, walls, castle town
 |Access=Bitchu Takahashi Station (Hakubi Line); 1260 taxi
-|Website=http://www.takahasikanko.or.jp/matsuyamajo-kaisetu.htm
+|Visitor Information=Open 9-17:30 (April-Sept); 9-16:30 (Oct-Mar)
+|Time Required=120 mins
+|Website=http://takahasikanko.or.jp/modules/spot/?content_id=1
 |City=Takahashi
 |Prefecture=Okayama Prefecture
-|Notes=Bitchu Matsuyama is a fairly small castle with only a few buildings, but the great stone walls and views make this 5 Stars. I took the taxi to the parking lot near the castle but walked back down. The mountain is fairly steep so I would recommend walking back rather than up. There are some ruins farther in the mountain but due to heavy rains in 2010, some of the stone walls and paths from just behind the main keep have been badly damaged and you cannot go all the back to the farther ruins.
+|Notes=Bitchu Matsuyama has a fairly small original main keep but at the top of a mountain overlooking the town it didn't need to be any bigger. It is quite a hike to the top of the mountain so if you want to save some time and energy you can take a taxi (~1800 yen) or walk to the park ride near the base of the mountain.  It is available on weekends, holidays and during busy season. For my latest trip I used the park & ride and walked back down.
-|History=Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is well know as being the highest altitude castle in Japan at 480 meters. This was viewed as a strategic location was also viewed as valuable territory for a castle. Akiba Shigenobu built the first castle on a nearby mountain in 1240. In 1331 Takahashi Muneyasu built the first Matsuyama Castle on this site. The main keep and yagura you see today were built by Mizunoya in 1683. This was one of very few 2 level main keep, but being on top of the mountain, there was little need to build a high vantage point. After the Mizunoya there were several different lords until Itakura Katsuyoshi in 1744. His descendents continued to rule until the Meiji restoration.
-|Year Visited=2010
+I revisited this site in Nov 2024 almost 10 years to the day of my first visit.  The trees were a little bigger but nothing else had changed. This time armed with much more castle knowledge and some information about the extended fortifications and this castle's predecessor [[Ohmatsuyama Castle]] I spent much of the day [[Bitchu Matsuyama Castle - Outer Baileys|scrambling around the top to find all the ruins]] I could and I still did not have enough time. Besides the ruins around the top of the mountain, the town is also a splendid castle town with 2 original samurai homes. One of the more impressive findings on this trip was also the string of temples that almost look like castles from a distance with high stone walls in multiple levels with clay walls atop them and pseudo-masugata looking gates. Visit the [[Bitchu Matsuyama Castle - Castle Town | castle town]] album for details.
+|History=Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is well know as being the highest altitude castle in Japan at 480 meters. This was viewed as a strategic location was also viewed as valuable territory for a castle. Akiba Shigenobu first built [[Ohmatsuyama Castle]] on a nearby mountain in 1240. As unrest spread throughout the lands, the entire mountain was converted into a castle complex including a a castle on this site (Komatsuyama peak) In 1331 by Takahashi Muneyasu. In the Edo Period the other castles were abandoned and the fortifications on this site were developed into an Edo Period castle. This castle site also had the advantage of being seen from the town below, an important symbol for the domain. This was one of very few 2 level main keep, but being on top of the mountain, there was little need to build a high vantage point. After the Mizunoya there were several different lords until Itakura Katsuyoshi in 1744. His descendents continued to rule until the Meiji restoration.
+|Year Visited=2010, 2024
 |AddedJcastle=2004
-|Japanese Notes=備中松山城はちょっとこじんまりした城ですが、すばらしい石垣と眺めで星を五つにしました。山はちょっと険しいのであまり疲れるより、タクシーで登って、歩いて帰るのをお勧めします。2010年の大雨で後曲輪の一部と山奥にある大松山城の城跡などが崩れて入れないようになっています。
+|Visits=November 20, 2010; November 22, 2024
-|Visits=November 20, 2010
 |GPSLocation=34.80891, 133.62219
+|Contributor=Eric
 |rating_average=4.4
 |castleElev=406