Castello di Matsuyama
Matsuyama Castle is a flatland-mountain castle atop the 132 m Mt. Katsuyama in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, and one of Japan's 12 surviving original tenshu. Construction began in 1602 and was completed in 1627; from 1635 it served 15 generations of the Matsudaira clan as the seat of the Iyo domain. Its rare connected keep — combining a great keep, lesser keep, southern corner turret, and northern corner turret via passage turrets around a central platform — and 21 structures including the great keep (rebuilt 1854) are designated Important Cultural Properties. Selected for «Japan's Top 100 Castles,» «Top 100 Cherry Blossom Sites,» and (with the Ishizuchi range as backdrop) «Top 100 Mountains,» it stands as Shikoku's representative castle.
Highlights
- Great Keep and Connected Keep — the 1854 great keep, with lesser keep, southern and northern corner turrets connected around a central platform, a rare structure nationwide
- Ropeway and Chairlift — three minutes from town to summit; the open chairlift offers an immersive panoramic ride
- Cherry blossom site — the rebuilt 1854 keep paired with 500 Yoshino cherry trees; the Honmaru plaza in early April rivals any in the Top 100 Castles
- Seto Inland Sea view — the keep's observation deck commands the Matsuyama Plain, the Inland Sea, and the Ishizuchi range (West Japan's tallest at 1,982 m)
- Stone walls — Keicho-period high stonework, plus the Tonashimon, Taikomon, and other 21 Important Cultural Property structures — a paradise for fortification fans
