Map of the Surrounding Town
This map of Matsumoto Castle and its surrounding town was created in 1728 under the rule of the Toda family. In 1995, the map was designated an Important Cultural Property by the city of Matsumoto.
Since daimyos were frequently reassigned to different domains, maps were important tools of governance. An accurate map was useful for things like planning how to defend a castle, knowing where one’s high-ranking retainers lived, settling land disputes, and identifying crucial resources such as rivers. Despite the relative simplicity of surveying techniques in the eighteenth century, this map aligns closely with modern maps.
The colored markings indicate critical infrastructure and the areas where different social classes were permitted to live. Major roads are marked yellow, moats are marked blue, and defensive embankments are colored dark green. The occasional small, bright-red squares are guard stations, and the white sections around the outskirts of the town are temples and shrines. The pale-red sections located in the third bailey and to the north of the castle are samurai residences. The area where commoners lived is represented by a light-green block that spans the southern and eastern sides of the castle.