Map of the Surrounding Town 城下町の地図

Official explanation

This map of Matsumoto Castle and its surrounding town was created in 1728 under the rule of the Toda family. In 1995, the map was designated an Important Cultural Property by the city of Matsumoto.

Since daimyos were frequently reassigned to different domains, maps were important tools of governance. An accurate map was useful for things like planning how to defend a castle, knowing where one’s high-ranking retainers lived, settling land disputes, and identifying crucial resources such as rivers. Despite the relative simplicity of surveying techniques in the eighteenth century, this map aligns closely with modern maps.

Read the full explanation

The colored markings indicate critical infrastructure and the areas where different social classes were permitted to live. Major roads are marked yellow, moats are marked blue, and defensive embankments are colored dark green. The occasional small, bright-red squares are guard stations, and the white sections around the outskirts of the town are temples and shrines. The pale-red sections located in the third bailey and to the north of the castle are samurai residences. The area where commoners lived is represented by a light-green block that spans the southern and eastern sides of the castle.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.