Matsumoto Castle

photo by Huyen Chau Nguyen · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by Syced · CC0

The 1596–97 tenshu has the only moon tower still attached to a castle.

The tenshu, with five visible storeys and six levels inside, is black against white walls and is reflected in the moat with the Japanese Alps behind. Attached to the main body, the moon-viewing tower (月見櫓), with its red-lacquered balustrade, is the only surviving example in a Japanese castle: you look out from where people once watched the moon, not the enemy.

A fortress on the former site of Fukushi Castle, it was rebuilt by the Ishikawa clan between 1590 and 1597. On 29 March 1952 the five surviving structures (tenshu, inui-kotenshu, watari-yagura, tatsumi-tsuke-yagura and tsukimi-yagura) were designated a National Treasure. Dendrochronological analysis dates the present tenshu to 1596–97, under Ishikawa Kazumasa and his son Yasunaga; the moon-viewing tower was added later, in peacetime, when the loopholes built for war were no longer needed.

ℹ️ Open 8:30–17:00, extended to 18:00 during Golden Week and Obon (last entry 30 minutes before closing). Closed only from 29 to 31 December. Free admission for Matsumoto residents over 70 and for holders of a disability certificate with one companion.

🚉 Matsumoto · 16 min walk

Sources: matsumoto-castle.jp · ja.wikipedia.org · city.matsumoto.nagano.jp

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