The Construction of Matsumoto Castle 松本城の築城

(2) Building the Castle Keep

Kazumasa and his eldest son, Ishikawa Yasunaga (1554–1642), improved the castle grounds and began work on Matsumoto Castle. Kazumasa died only three years after his arrival in Matsumoto, but Yasunaga oversaw the completion of the Great Keep, the Northwest Tower, and the Roofed Passage.

The initial stages of construction are described in an eighteenth-century text on the history and geography of the region called Shinpu tōki (Compiled Chronicles of Matsumoto):

“Kazumasa built [the Kosanji Goten] in the second bailey and started planning the layout of the castle. Yasunaga continued his father’s work: he erected the keep, dug the outermost moat, increased the height of the earthen embankments, then laid the stone foundation for the castle, built the Roofed Passage, Kuromon Gate, and Taikomon Gate, repaired the walls, and built a tower above the gate to the third bailey. He built most of the plaster walls around the outermost moat and repaired the residences within the castle compound. He also built residences for his samurai retainers.”

Matsumoto Castle during the Edo Period (1603–1867)

(1) Lords of the Castle

During the Edo period, Matsumoto Castle was governed by 23 successive lords from six families. The castle was the administrative center of Matsumoto domain, which roughly corresponds to what is now the Chūshin region of Nagano Prefecture. At this time, the country was divided into hundreds of such domains, and daimyos were appointed to govern them by order of the Tokugawa shogunate. Daimyos who were loyal to the shogunate would often be relocated to more prestigious domains or given an increased stipend, which was measured in units of rice called koku. Matsumoto’s strategic location and subsequently large stipend made it desirable, and the daimyos that governed the domain were often closely related to the shogun or his family.

Family Name Given Name Period of Rule

Ishikawa Kazumasa 1590–1592

Yasunaga 1592–1613

Ogasawara Hidemasa 1613–1615

Tadamasa (Tadazane) 1615–1617

Toda Yasunaga 1617–1632

Yasunao 1633–1633

Matsudaira Naomasa 1633–1638

Hotta Masamori 1638–1642

Mizuno Tadakiyo 1642–1647

Tadamoto 1647–1668

Tadanao 1668–1713

Tadachika 1713–1718

Tadamoto 1718–1723

Tadatsune 1723–1725

Period of Direct Control by Tokugawa Shogunate

Toda Mitsuchika 1726–1732

Mitsuo 1732–1756

Mitsuyasu 1756–1759

Mitsumasa 1759–1774

Mitsuyoshi 1774–1786

Mitsuyuki 1786–1800

Mitsutsura 1800–1837

Mitsutsune 1837–1845

Mitsuhisa 1845–1869

Family High-Level Government Positions Stipend (kokudaka)

1 koku ≈ 180L Previous Post Next Post

Ishikawa Hōki no kami (“Lord of Hōki Province”): Kazumasa

Genba no kami (“Chief of Temples and Foreign Affairs”): Yasunaga 80,000 koku Izumi Province Stripped of rank, land seized

Ogasawara Shinano no kami (“Lord of Shinano Province”): Hidemasa

Ukon no taifu (“Fifth-Rank Magistrate of the Right”): Tadazane 80,000 koku Shinano Province,

Iida domain Harima Province, Akashi domain (10,000 koku)

Toda Tanba no kami (“Lord of Tanba Province”): Yasunaga

Sado no kami (“Lord of Sado Province”): Yasunao 70,000 koku Kōzuke Province, Takasaki domain Harima Province, Akashi domain (70,000 koku)

Matsudaira Dewa no kami (“Lord of Dewa Province”): Naomasa 70,000 koku Echizen Province,

Ōno domain Izumo Province, Matsue domain (186,000 koku)

Hotta Kaga no kami (“Lord of Kaga Province”): Masamori 100,000 koku Musashi Province, Kawagoe domain Shimōsa Province, Sakura domain (110,000 koku)

Mizuno Hayato no shō (“Commander of the Hayato”): Tadakiyo and others

Dewa no kami (“Lord of Dewa Province”): Tadamoto and others

Hyūga no kami (“Lord of Hyūga Province”): Tadamoto (r. 1718–1723) 70,000 koku Mikawa Province, Yoshida domain Land confiscated

Toda Tanba no kami (“Lord of Tanba Province”) 60,000 koku Shima Province,

Toba domain Abolition of the domain system (haihan-chiken)

(2) Major Events

This timeline describes some of the key events in the history of Matsumoto Castle and the surrounding domain.

Year Event Ruling Family

1504 Shimadachi Sadanaga constructs Fukashi Castle (according to available records).

1550 Takeda Shingen attacks Fukashi Castle, forcing Ogasawara Nagatoki to flee. Shingen begins renovations of Fukashi Castle.

1582 Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori, functionally eradicating the Takeda family. After a brief clash between daimyos, Fukashi Castle is claimed by Ogasawara Sadayoshi, who renames the site “Matsumoto Castle.”

1590 The Ogasawara family is transferred to eastern Japan. Toyotomi Hideyoshi awards Matsumoto Castle to Ishikawa Kazumasa. Ishikawa

1593 Construction of the Great Keep, the Northwest Tower, and the Roofed Passage progresses.

1600 The Ishikawa family allies with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara.

1613 Ishikawa Yasunaga is implicated in a tax scandal (the Ōkubo Nagayasu Jiken) and stripped of his rank by Ieyasu. Ogasawara Hidemasa is granted control of Matsumoto Castle. Ogasawara

1614 The Ogasawara family fights alongside Tokugawa forces during the winter campaign of the Siege of Osaka.

1615 Ogasawara Hidemasa and his eldest son, Ogasawara Tadanaga, die during the summer campaign of the Siege of Osaka.

1617 Toda Yasunaga is granted control of Matsumoto Castle. He builds more residential areas for samurai to the north of the castle. Toda

1633 Matsudaira Naomasa is granted control of Matsumoto Castle. He builds the Southeast Wing and the Moon-Viewing Tower and repairs other parts of the castle. Matsudaira

1649 Mizuno Tadamoto conducts a comprehensive land survey of Matsumoto Domain. Mizuno

1686 Peasants in the north protest the high annual taxes levied on them by the domanial government. The protest leaders are captured and crucified.

1725 The Mizuno family is removed from power after Mizuno Tadatsune attacks someone with his sword on the grounds of Edo Castle. In their absence, development of the castle town is completed.

1726 Matsumoto Castle is briefly placed under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate, after which the Toda family is once again granted control of the castle. Toda

1727 The Honmaru Goten burns down. Its functions are transferred to the Ninomaru Goten and the Kosanji Goten.

1743 The shogunate grants the Toda family additional territory valued at 50,000 koku.

1760 Shinano Province (of which Matsumoto is part) becomes embroiled in a legal dispute regarding sanctions on shipping by horseback along public roads.

1775 A large fire breaks out in Matsumoto, and parts of the second and third bailey are damaged.

1793 The domain school Sōkyōkan is opened.

1803 Another fire breaks out in Matsumoto, and large sections of the city burn. Several samurai residences and temples are damaged or destroyed.

1816 An irrigation canal called “Jikkasegi” is built in Azumino, a village to the north of Matsumoto Castle.

1825 Protests erupt in northern Matsumoto domain as tens of thousands of peasants rise up against a sharp increase in the price of rice.

1832 The Saigawa Canal is expanded to pass through Matsumoto.

1854 A powerful earthquake damages many buildings at the castle and in the town.

1862 A samurai from Matsumoto murders two British soldiers in Edo.

1863 Matsumoto domain is ordered to help guard Uraga Bay.

1864 Matsumoto domain is ordered to participate in the First Chōshū Expedition. Forces from Matsumoto are defeated by masterless samurai (ronin) from Mito domain at the Wada Pass.

1865 Fire breaks out in Matsumoto, damaging residential areas in the south. Matsumoto domain is ordered to participate in the Second Chōshū Expedition and dispatches troops to Hiroshima.

1866 A protest erupts in the south of Matsumoto domain as peasants rally against rising rice prices.

1868 Matsumoto domain allies with the new imperial government and participates in the Battle of Hokuetsu in Hokkaido.

1869 Toda Mitsuhisa, the last daimyo of Matsumoto, surrenders his territory to the emperor.

1870 An anti-Buddhist movement begins after an imperial edict separates the previously syncretic religions of Buddhism and Shinto.

1871 The shogunal domain system is abolished, and Matsumoto domain becomes Matsumoto Prefecture. Several castle gates are demolished, and the castle is placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. Matsumoto Prefecture is soon renamed Chikuma Prefecture, and a prefectural office is established in the castle’s second bailey.