Layout of the Ninomaru Goten
The Ninomaru Goten was an administrative complex of roughly 50 rooms that occupied over 2,100 square meters. The Great Keep stood to its west, and the complex was accessed via the Taikomon Gate to the southeast and the Ninomaru Ura-Gomon Bridge to the north.
The Ninomaru Goten was a secondary administrative center (goten) of Matsumoto domain. In 1727, when the primary center in the main bailey burned down, its functions were moved to the Ninomaru Goten. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), the Ninomaru Goten briefly served as a prefectural office, but its buildings were destroyed by fire in 1876. Two years later, a courthouse was established on the site and remained there until 1978, when it was relocated to a different area of the castle grounds.
The relocation created an opportunity to excavate the former site of the Ninomaru Goten. Between 1979 and 1984, archaeologists uncovered and restored the foundations of the complex. They also discovered various artifacts that hold valuable information about daily life at the goten. Some of those artifacts are displayed here.