Matsuyama Castle

This hirayamajiro was built on Katsuyama Hill with its ninomaru and sannomaru on the lower land surrounding it. The hill was the center of the Dogo Plain. Though the location of the castle was good, many geographical problems came along with it. Financial problems were also run into and in the end, the planned five-story tenshu could only be built with three-stories.

The five-story tenshu of this castle was built in 1601 by Yoshiaki Katoh. In 1624, the tenshu was rebuilt, but was destroyed by lightning on the first of January in 1784. It took many years before reconstruction started in 1820. The present tenshu was rebuilt in 1854. This one included a main one with three smaller ones close by. These three tenshus were destroyed in a fire in 1933. Just eight years later, its towers were bombed and destroyed in World War II. In 1969, the people of the town of Matsuyama decided to rebuild this historical site.