Matsumoto Castle, Castle in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Matsumoto Castle is a flatland castle in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, originally called Fukashi Castle. Its keep rises from an irregular grey and brown stone base, with walls banded in white plaster and black vertical boards, five stacked tiers of dark grey tiled roofs with upturned corners, and a lower wing on the left. The keep and four other structures are National Treasures.
A fortification called Fukashi Castle was built here by the Ogasawara clan during the Eisho era (1504–1520). Takeda Shingen seized it in 1550 and made it a field headquarters; after the Takeda fell in 1582, Ogasawara Sadayoshi renamed it Matsumoto Castle. Ishikawa Kazumasa and his son Yasunaga built the keep around 1596–1597, as dendrochronology of its pillars indicates.
The keep's name derives from its black lacquered siding, and the second floor houses the Teppo Gura gun museum with armour and weapons. The Tsukimi Yagura moon-viewing turret was built for a visit by shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu that never took place. The castle park hosts events including the Night Cherry Blossom Viewing, held from three days after the blooming declaration for eight days, and the Taiko Festival.
You can reach the grounds on foot from Matsumoto Station or by taking a local shuttle that stops near the main entrance. The steep wooden stairs inside require sturdy footwear and may challenge visitors with limited mobility.
The keep's black coating was made with ink until the 1950-1955 dismantling revealed traces of lacquer, after which it was repainted in black lacquer. Because lacquer fades under ultraviolet light, it is recoated once a year. The third floor has a low, windowless space explained in pamphlets as a "secret floor", actually a roof-space left by the second tier's large roof structure.
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