Takahashi City is located in the midwestern part of Okayama Prefecture. Bitchu Matsuyama Castle stands on Gagyuzan Mountain, which rises to the north of the city. The castle is one of the “12 existing castle towers” that were built before the Edo period and have been preserved. The castle is one of the “12 existing castle towers” that were built before the Edo period and is the only mountain castle with a preserved castle tower.
Tracing the History of Bicchu Matsuyama Castle
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is located at an elevation of 430 meters above sea level. Because of its elevation and topography, a “sea of clouds” can easily form, and can often be seen. The castle tower appears to float in the sea of clouds, which is beautiful and has been described as a “mountain castle in the sky.
According to Mr. Noriaki Miura of the Education Division of the Takahashi City Board of Education, “Takahashi City is characterized by a mortar-shaped basin topography, which makes it easy for the sea of clouds to stay in place. This makes it a place where you can encounter a sea of clouds with a high probability. The best season for cloud seas is considered to be from October to December. The fantastic sight can be seen from the “Sea of Clouds Observatory” located in the northeastern part of the castle.
Castles evolve as their owners change
Gagyuzan, on which Bitchu Matsuyama Castle stands, is named for its shape like a cow lying down, and consists of four peaks: Omatsuyama, Tenjin-no-maru, Komatsuyama, and Maeyama.
In 1240, a fort was built on Omatsuyama by Shigenobu Akiba, a landowner at that time, and this is said to be the beginning of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle. When the castle came under the control of the Tokugawa Shogunate after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Masatsugu Kobori, Masakazu (Enshu) and his son were assigned to this area as magistrates. It is said that they began repairing the palace and castle.
In 1642, Mizunoya Katsutaka became the lord of the castle. His son, Katsumune, spent about three years from 1681 to complete a large-scale renovation of the castle, including the construction of turrets and a major gate, and completed the entire castle as it stands today.
In 1868, the Bicchu-Matsuyama Clan was regarded as a morning enemy in the Boshin War, a conflict between the new Meiji government forces and the old shogunate forces. The castle was opened without bloodshed, thanks to the decision of Yamada Houkoku and others, a scholar of the Yomei school of thought, who were working on reforming the domain government at the time. The castle was thus spared from being destroyed.
From forgotten to town-wide preservation and restoration
Although the castle survived the crisis for a time, in 1873, the “decree for the abolition of castles” was promulgated. Bitchu Matsuyama Castle was put up for auction by the national government, and although it is said that local residents purchased the castle, it was left unattended because it was too expensive to dismantle everything on top of the mountain. Because of its location, the castle has passed through time without being seen by anyone. Before long, the existence of the castle itself was forgotten, and it became a desolate castle.
A major turning point came in 1927. A full-scale investigation of the castle began, led by a teacher at a local junior high school who knew the history of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle and recognized its value. The existence of the castle, which even the local residents did not know, came to light, and momentum for its preservation gradually grew.
From 1939 to 1940, the castle underwent a major Showa-era renovation. In 1939-1940, the castle underwent a major renovation in the Showa period (1926-1989), during which students from local elementary and junior high schools and girls’ schools carried some 20,000 tiles up to the castle at the top of the mountain, as shown in photographs. It seems that the entire town was involved in the restoration of the castle,” said Miura. Since then, the castle has undergone three major renovations, in 1957 and 2000.
The building has never been damaged by war or natural disasters, and has remained as it was in the past.
To reach the keep, visitors walk for about 20 minutes along a steep mountain path from the Fuigotoge parking lot at the 8th station. As you approach, you will see stone walls piled on top of natural rocks. Some of the stone walls were built to incorporate the 10-meter-high towering bedrock, and the power of the walls is overwhelming. The stonewalls that take advantage of the mountain terrain are another highlight of the castle.
The castle tower is a two-story, two-tiered building with a wooden tile roof. At approximately 11 meters high, it is the lowest of the 12 existing keepers, but boasts a distinctive appearance with a karahafu (Chinese gable) on the front of the keep.
On the first floor, there is a sunken hearth, which is rare for a castle tower, and the “Syozoku-no-Ma,” which served as the living quarters of the castle’s lord and his family. It is thought that he intended to have the town of Takahashi protected from the highest point of the castle.
Miura says, “We believe that the castle tower has survived to the present day because the area was not subjected to air raids during the war and was not prone to earthquakes or other natural disasters.
Welcoming the cat castle owner, Sanjuro, the castle is now equipped with a new charm.
Bicchu Matsuyama Castle has a history of changing owners as time goes by. The current lord of the castle is a cat!
The cat, which was originally kept in Takahashi City, left its owner’s home after the heavy rains in western Japan in 2008 and came to live at the castle. Rumors spread that “there is a cute cat in the castle,” and it quickly became popular after being introduced on local TV and in newspapers. The cat was protected by the Takahashi City Tourist Association and named “Sanjuro” after Tani Sanjuro, a samurai from the Bitchu Matsuyama domain who was a Shinsengumi commander of the 7th Squadron, and because the first place he was found was in the San-no-maru area. He was to live in the “Five Flat Tower,” where the castle’s administrative offices are located.
Due to his popularity, on December 16, 2018, he was appointed as the owner of the cat castle. Depending on his condition and mood, Sanjuro can be seen twice a day during his walks around the castle.
In March 2024, a memorial hall “Ashiato Kan (Ashiato Museum for Cat Lord Sanju-roo)” opened in the former Haniwara family residence in Ishibiya-cho, located at the southern foot of Gagyu Mountain, where Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is built. Its popularity knows no bounds.
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle” is the only mountain castle in Japan where the Edo period castle tower still exists as it was in those days. The view of the castle tower floating in the sea of clouds attracts visitors as it has done since the old days. Thinking about the history of this castle and the fantastic scenery that the people of that time must have seen, we hope to continue to protect it as a scenic spot that Okayama Prefecture should be proud of in the future.
