Yuzuki Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Dōgo Park, Matsuyama, Japan
Yuzuki Castle is a medieval castle ruin in Dōgo Park, Matsuyama. The remains include preserved moats, earthworks, and reconstructed samurai residences on a hill at the edge of the park.
The Kōno clan built Yuzuki Castle in 1335, when Kōno Michimori moved his seat from Kawano to this hill above Dōgo. In 1585 Kobayakawa Takakage's army, acting for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, forced the Kōno to surrender after about a month of siege; the castle was not destroyed. Fukushima Masanori became lord in 1587 but soon moved to Kokubunyama, and the site was abandoned.
The name comes from Yuzuki, an old place name that once referred to this area. Visitors today see a quiet park with wide paths between ditches and small mounds, where families walk and children play.
The ruins lie in Dōgo Park, about a minute on foot from the Dōgo Park tram stop, roughly 20 minutes from JR Matsuyama Station. The Yuzuki Castle Museum opens from 9:00 to 17:00 and is closed on Mondays, or the next day when Monday is a holiday. Volunteer guides are available at the site.
In the exhibition hall, cross-section models show how builders layered earth and wood together. This technique allowed them to build walls without stone.
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