Japanese Castle guide in Japan castle Historical site Statue Introduction.

[Castle name]
Matsumae Castle
Masaki castle that was also attacked by the Shinsengumi war with the former shogun army of Enomoto battle during Boshin war.

[Explanation]
Masaki Castle is flatland mountain castle in Masaki town, Masaki district, Hokkaido.
Another name is also called “Fukuyama castle”.

Kakizaki who was originally a vassal of the southern family is located in Kawauchi Town, Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, and it is said that Kakizaki Castle was made the here. After that, “Kakizaki Nobuzumi” caused a disturbance in the southern family, “Nanbu Seikei” tracked down and killed Nobuzumi, Nobuzumi sought asylum to Masaki Karakumo.

The ancestor of Kakizaki Nobuzumi is also said to be Wakasa Takeda (Genji), before Nobuzumi, Kakizaki Uji had claimed Takeda surname. Kakizaki Nobuzumi who sought asylum to Matsumae gradually strengthened the base in this area, and in the Sengoku Era he was brought up to the Sengoku Daimyo who restrained the southern part of Ezo.

According to another theory, Nobuhiro Takeda of Wakasa Takeda moved to Kakizaki in the Shimokita Peninsula, then crossed to Masaki of Ezo, then as a guest of “Kakizaki Sueshige” who was in a conflict with Ainu at that time Actively, there is also the theory that he became a son-in-law Kakizaki.

It is unknown which theory is correct, but base was moved to the Katsuyama pavilion in the era of Takeda Nobuhiro (Nobuhiro Kakizaki), and in Eishou Era 11th year, November (1514), Nobuhiro’s child “Mitsuhiro” relocated his headquarters in Takuyama building at where he steadily improved his power.

When entering the latter period of the Sengoku Era, Yoshihiro Kakizaki, a child of Kakizaki Suehiro, was relieved when he visited Toyotomi Hideyoshi who subjugated the heavens. By this, Kakizaki Uji became independent from Akita (former Ando) who had influence at the time of the northern Tohoku and the southern part of Ezo. After the death of Hideyoshi, he approached Tokugawa Ieyasu in Keichou 4th year (1599), renamed him “Matsumae Yoshihiro”.

In Keicho 8th year (1603), Tokugawa Ieyasu received imperial proclamation of the great unifying leader, and Kakizaki Uji, who received certified document with the signature of shogun, successfully survived the Edo period. At the end of the Tokugawa period, the lord Matsumae Takahiro was taken out as a member of shogun’s council of elders while the shogun was old.

Meanwhile, Mastumae Castle is the last Japanese-style castle in Japan. When the Russian fleet arrived, the shogunate ordered Takahiro Matsumae to rebuild the Fukuyama pavilion (Matsumae Foundation) with the aim of northern guard in 1849 (Kaei 2nd year). Although there was also a plan to move the castle to Hakodate mountain, which is also easy to protect topographically during the castle construction, it was not realized due to the financial aspect and opposition from the Hakodate merchants.

The Fukuyama palace has expanded and renovated the former Fukuyama pavilion by the turmoil of Naganuma strategist “Ichikawa Ichigaku”, and for the first time built a triple castle towers. It was completed in the first year of Ansei first year (1854), and it is said that it began to be called Matsumae Castle since this time.

It was equipped with a fort to prepare for the bombardment from the side of the sea, and installed an iron plate in the wall, and the passage from dangerous place to inner citadel of the main castle. The castle was structured to be easy to shoot with a gun etc. from the side. However, since there was not much distance from the plateau of Fukuyama to the coast, it could not be a large scale castle.

Thus Matsumae castle was built, but in the fall of the Meiji era (1868), the army with the leadership of the former shogunate army “Enomoto Takeaki” aiming to establish an independent government in the Ezo area, suppressed five sided fortifications, the base of the government forces. After that, On November 5, Hijikata Toshizou with about 700 people attacked Matsumae Castle. The Matsumae Clan soldiers battled hard, but fell in just a few hours.

However, in the following 1869 the Enomoto’s regime surrendered, again Matsumae Castle became Matsumae’s residence, and the castle was owned by the Meiji Government due to the implementation of the abolished clan area in Meiji 4th year 1871. While Boshin war, Watch tower and inner citadel gates survived, but watch tower was destroyed by misfire after the Second World War. However, the Inner citadel gates that exist from the time of the castle is designated as an important cultural asset of the country. Currently it is selected as 100 Japan National Castle (No. 3) and it is maintained as “Matsumae Park.”

[Address,access]
Matsumae castle Matsumae town, Matsumae district, Hokkaido 049-1511

[Map]