This article is based on a visit made on Saturday, 19 May 2018.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I took a detour on my way back to Tokyo, courtesy of the Resort View Furusato train. We disembarked at Matsumoto Station, and hopped a bus to the central focus of the city: the eponymous Matsumoto Castle (松本城,
Matsumoto-jō), which is one of
Japan's twelve remaining feudal-era castles.
Matsumoto Castle, in its current form, was completed in 1594, replacing a fort that stood on its spot for almost a century beforehand. It was the headquarters of the Matsumoto Domain until the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when the land was put up for auction, but spared from redevelopment thanks to the citizens' efforts. Since then, the castle was acquired by the city government and preserved as a museum.
The castle is surrounded by small but pleasant park area, and guarded over by its mascot character, Alp-chan (アルプちゃん,
Arupu-chan). True to its name, its helmet evokes the mountains of the nearby Japan Alps.
Something I highly recommend doing ahead of visiting is to sign up for a free volunteer guide to take you along through the castle. The Alps Language Service Association offers these guides in English and other select languages. To apply, visit their booth at the south entrance to the castle park (open from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM), or apply on their website up to two weeks before your visit. More information:
(English)
Obviously, neither of these cosplayers were my guide, but the actual guide did help take my picture here.
Because it was never reconstructed, Matsumoto Castle has maintained the same authentic wooden interior since it was built centuries ago. What is different nowadays is that the keep hosts a museum, which focuses on weaponry of feudal Japan. One fact I learned here was that women played a role in maintaining the castle's defences, in particular by making gunpowder.
Where there are weapons, one needs armour. Our guide told us an anecdote about George Lucas visiting a Japanese castle before developing the first
Star Wars movie in the '70s, giving him design inspirations for the character
Darth Vader. I wasn't able to confirm this in my own research, but samurai armour was cited as a reference by other concept artists who worked on the film, especially the shape of the
kabuto helmets.
The keep contains six storeys, despite the outside appearance of only five. If you recall from my visit to
Nagoya Castle, this is a common defence tactic of Japanese castle construction. The stairs leading up to the fourth floor and beyond are dangerously steep, but your reward is witnessing these splendid views from the top floor! These views would be even more splendid in mid-April, when the hundreds of cherry trees planted around the gardens bloom into pink petals.
From this angle, we can see a red-railed bridge, which makes for a photogenic shot when viewed from ground level, combined with the keep. If it is normally possible to walk across this bridge, it was not so that day, having been closed off for some sort of repairs.
The top floor has a small shrine hidden up in the rafters. It was here where my guide told me about the symbolism behind the
shimenawa, how the ropes and paper tassels represent clouds and lightning.
On your way down, your path will lead you into one of the castle's secondary turrets. Shown above, the 3-storey "moon-viewing turret" (月見の宴,
tsukimi no yagura) was added in 1634, in anticipation of a visit from the national lord Tokugawa Iemitsu. Ironically, the shogun's path was blocked by a rock slide and he never showed up.
With my sign-off selfie, I would once again like to extend a big thank you to Reiko (right), our volunteer guide. With her insight, I am comfortable confirming Matsumoto Castle as one of Japan's finest castles to visit, rivaled only by the "white egret" itself,
Himeji Castle. But there's more to Matsumoto than just the castle, and if you'll stick around with me, I'd like to show you a bit more of the city, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Hours: Open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, or from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM during Golden Week and O-Bon. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time. Closed on 29-31 December.
Costs: ¥610.
Address: 4-1 Marunouchi, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano-ken 〒390-0873
Access: Matsumoto Castle is 8 minutes by bus, or 15 minutes by foot, from Matsumoto station.
Directions: To go by bus, take the Town Sneaker North bus from Matsumoto Station's Oshiro-guchi exit to Matsumoto-jo/Shiyakusho-mae (8 minutes, ¥200).
To go by foot, start from Matsumoto Station's Oshiro-guchi exit and head straight down the main road. After 5 minutes, turn left at the fourth traffic light (Fukashi 2-chome / 深志二丁目), then continue straight for 10 minutes, bearing right after crossing the river mid-way.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
