First Floor
The first floor was used to stockpile supplies such as rations, gunpowder, and weapons. Its wide corridors and many loopholes allowed soldiers to quickly position themselves to defend the castle. This floor has displays related to the castle architecture, including a section of an underground post that was part of the original sixteenth-century foundation and a pair of fish-shaped shachi roof tiles that were believed to protect the castle from fire.
Second Floor
The second floor has additional storage space and an area that could have been used for assembling troops. The thick-latticed windows on the eastern, southern, and western walls gave defenders covered positions from which to fire down on enemy forces. This floor holds the Matsumoto Castle Firearm Museum, which includes a wide variety of both Japanese and Western firearms and accessories from the sixteenth through the late nineteenth centuries. The museum collection was donated by the late Akahane Michishige and his wife, Kayoko, a local duo of firearm enthusiasts.