Matsuyama Castle (Saitama)

If you look at the map of this castle you'll see it's a maze of connected moats surrounding several smaller baileys. Due to a lack of good signs and maps however, I unfortunately can't make detailed comments about the locations of each pictures so just enjoy them in conjunction with the Google Map t

History

Matsuyama Castle was built by Ueda Tomonao, a vassal of Uesugi Ougigayatsu. Matsuyama Castle became famous as a major focal point of the struggles between Uesugi and the Hojo. In 1537, the Hojo led a major force against Matsuyama Castle but they were unable to take it. They set the town on fire and abandoned the fight. In 1562, The Hojo again attacked in force. This time they called for assistance from Takeda Shingen. Takeda tried to dig a tunnel into the castle from which to secretly attack, but they hit a water reservoir and failed drowning many of the workers. This gave them the idea; however, to cut off the water supply by rupturing other reservoirs or diverting water from the castle's wells. Conditions within the castle grew serious as they ran out of water and on June 4, 1563, Uesugi Norikatsu gave up the castle, the same day that his reinforcements from Uesugi Kenshin arrived. Matsuyama flourished under the Ueda who ruled for the Hojo until 1590 when it was taken by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his campaign against Odawara. After the Tokugawa moved to Edo, Matsuyama Castle was temporarily ruled by the Matsudaira until 1601 when it was decommissioned.

Field Notes

If you look at the map of this castle you'll see it's a maze of connected moats surrounding several smaller baileys. Due to a lack of good signs and maps however, I unfortunately can't make detailed comments about the locations of each pictures so just enjoy them in conjunction with the Google Map to get a good feel for the castle.

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Gallery

path to the Honkuruwa
Honkuruwa Bailey
dry moat
Dry moat
Dry moat
Dry moats and baileys
Bailey
Dry Moat
Dry moat
Dry moats and baileys
Dry moat and bailey
Dry moats and baileys
Dry moat and bailey
Dry moat and bailey
Fourth Kuruwa
Fourth Kuruwa
map

Castle Profile
English Name	Matsuyama Castle (Saitama)
Japanese Name	松山城
Founder	Ueda Tomonao
Year Founded	1399
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	trenches
Visitor Information
Access	Higashi Matsuyama Sta. (Tobu Tojo Line); 20 min walk
Hours
Time Required
Location	Yoshimi, Saitama Prefecture
Coordinates	36.03659, 139.42075
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2011
Admin Year Visited	2010
Admin Visits	November 11, 2010

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