The Leaning Castle 傾いた城伝説

Official explanation

By the turn of the twentieth century, Matsumoto Castle had gone unused and neglected for decades. Its roofs had begun to crumble, and its exterior was badly worn. To make matters worse, the castle foundation had begun to decay, causing the Great Keep to tilt noticeably. This situation gave rise to one of the castle’s most dramatic legends.

In 1686, a town headman named Tada Kasuke (1639–1686) led a protest of some 10,000 villagers demanding tax relief from the officials at Matsumoto Castle. Farmers in the area had recently suffered crop failures, and because taxes were paid in rice, many farmers could not pay their taxes without risking starvation.

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The officials feared the protest might become a full-scale revolt, so they quickly acceded to Tada’s demands and presented him with documents guaranteeing the repeal of the higher tax rate. Soon afterward, however, the officials seized and imprisoned Tada, members of his family, and around 20 of his followers. The documents, too, were confiscated.

On the day Tada was scheduled to be publicly crucified, a large crowd gathered and chanted prayers. Tada spoke to them, saying that he would still achieve the tax reduction they needed. With his final breaths, Tada repeatedly shouted the promised tax rate. According to legend, he turned his rage-filled, bloodshot eyes toward the castle one last time as he died, and the Great Keep tilted to the west with a terrifying rumbling of the earth.

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.