is a Japanese castle located in central Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is also called , literally "seaweed castle," for its seawater moats. The castle was headquarters of the Takamatsu Domain, which ruled eastern Sanuki Province (modern-day Kagawa) from 1588 to 1869. It is now a park. The castle site has been a National Historic Site since 1955. This castle is one of three in Japan to use seawater moats, along with Imabari Castle in

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, T ...

and

Nakatsu Castle is a Japanese castle in the city of Nakatsu, Ōita, Nakatsu in Ōita Prefecture. It is known as one of the three ''mizujiro'', or "castles on the sea", in Japan, with Takamatsu Castle (Sanuki), Takamatsu Castle in Kagawa Prefecture and Imabari Ca ...

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...

History

Takamatsu Castle is located on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, in front of Takamatsu port. Following the conquest of Shikoku during the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

by the forces of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

, he assigned his general

Ikoma Chikamasa Ikoma Chikamasa (生駒親正, 1526 – March 25, 1603) was a Japanese '' daimyō'' during the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods around the turn of the 17th century. His father was Ikoma Chikashige. Chikamasa was appointed one of the san-''chūr� ...

as ruler of all of Sanuki. This area was of critical strategic importance, as the Chugoku region on the opposite shores of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island s ...

was controlled by the Mōri and their allies, all of whom were enemies of the Toyotomi government, and it was economically critical to keep the sea lanes open. The Ikoma first established their stronghold at Hiketa Castle, but it was inconveniently located near the eastern border of Sanuki, and therefore in 1588 Ikoma Chikamasa selected a more central location for a new castle, which was completed by 1590. Takamatsu Castle was a "sea castle" in that was situated directly on the coast, so that the ocean formed one side of its natural defenses. The castle covered an area of 400 by 200 meters. The inner bailey, which contained the three-story tenshu was only 50 by 20 meters, and could be reached only by bridge. It was surrounded by a concentric series of enclosures, each protected by stone walls, water moats and ''masugata''-style compound gates. Due to the small size of the castle, the Ikoma clan used Marugame Castle as their primary stronghold for a time, but were forced to return to Takamatsu Castle after the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 ( Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

in 1600 and the reduction in their territories by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. In 1640, the Ikoma were demoted and transferred to the much smaller Yashima Domain in Dewa Province. In 1642, the domain was awarded to a cadet branch of the Matsudaira clan from

Shimodate Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Hitachi Province (modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Shimodate Castle in what is now the city of Chikusei, Ibaraki. It was ruled for muc ...

in Hitachi Province. The Matsudaira rebuilt Matsuyama Castle, adding a new five-story tenshu. The Matsudaira ruled from this location until the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. In 1868, the castle was turned over to the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

, which used the grounds to 1874. The tenshu was destroyed in 1884 due to aging, and many other castle structures were demolished. The following year the castle was returned to the Matsudaira family, who sold off more of the grounds and rebuilt a luxurious villa in the inner ring. The castle was extensively damaged in air raids during World War II, and the Sakuragomon gate in the San-no-maru enclosure burned down (it was rebuilt in 2022). In 1947, under the former National Treasures Preservation Law, four surviving buildings, the Kita-no-Maru Tsukimi Yagura, the Kita-no-Maru Mizute Gomon, the Kita-no-Maru Watari Yagura, and the Higashi-No-Maru Ushitora Yagura were designated as national treasures. This designation was changed to that of National Important Cultural Properties in 1950 and the castle grounds opened to the public in 1955. Takamatsu Castle was listed as one of

Japan's Top 100 Castles The castles in were chosen based on their significance in culture, history, and in their regions by the in 2006. In 2017, Japanese Castle Association created an additional finest 100 castles list as Continued Top 100 Japanese Castles. Hokkaidō ...

by the Japan Castle Foundation in 2006.Japan Castle Foundation
/ref> In 2012, the Hiunkaku (former Matsudaira family Takamatsu villa) was designated as a National Important Cultural Property and the gardens of the villa were designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty in 2013. The castle is a ten-minute walk from the JR Shikoku Takamatsu Station.

Important Cultural Properties

* middle Edo Period (1676), designated an Important Cultural Property since 1947 * , late Edo Period (1830-1867), designated since 1947 * , middle Edo Period (1676), designated since 1947 * , middle Edo Period (1677), designated since 1947 * , built in 1917, designated since 2012 * , built in 1917, designated since 2012 * , built in 1926, designated since 2012

Gallery

File:Takamatsu castle01 in 1882.jpg, Main keep ''( Tenshu)'' in 1882, before it was dismantled File:Sannomaru seen from Tenshu.jpg, ''Sannomaru'', sometime before 1884 File:Takamatsu Castle Shika Yagura.jpg, Boat near the Shika tower ''(yagura)'', date unknown File:Takamatsu castle23.jpg, Ushitora tower File:Tamamo-jo (Takamatsu Castle) (8815362149).jpg, Saya bridge File:Takamatsu castle04s3872.jpg, Tsukimi tower and Mizunote Gomon gate File:Takamatsu castle24.jpg, Mizunote Gomon gate File:Takamatsu castle18.jpg, Stone wall of Sannomaru compound

References

Literature

* *

External links