Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

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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