The Construction of Matsumoto Castle
(1) The Arrival of the Ishikawa Family
Ishikawa Kazumasa (d.1592) was a longtime retainer of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), the eventual founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. Kazumasa was even entrusted with guarding Okazaki Castle, where Ieyasu had been born. However, in 1585, Kazumasa suddenly deserted and allied himself with Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598). In reward, he was granted control of Izumi Province (now southern Osaka Prefecture). When Hideyoshi removed the Ogasawara family from Matsumoto Castle in 1590, he chose the Ishikawa family to replace them.
(2) Building the Castle Keep
Kazumasa and his eldest son, Ishikawa Yasunaga (1554–1642), improved the castle grounds and began work on Matsumoto Castle. Kazumasa died only three years after his arrival in Matsumoto, but Yasunaga oversaw the completion of the Great Keep, the Northwest Tower, and the Roofed Passage.
The initial stages of construction are described in an eighteenth-century text on the history and geography of the region called Shinpu tōki (Compiled Chronicles of Matsumoto):
“Kazumasa built [the Kosanji Goten] in the second bailey and started planning the layout of the castle. Yasunaga continued his father’s work: he erected the keep, dug the outermost moat, increased the height of the earthen embankments, then laid the stone foundation for the castle, built the Roofed Passage, Kuromon Gate, and Taikomon Gate, repaired the walls, and built a tower above the gate to the third bailey. He built most of the plaster walls around the outermost moat and repaired the residences within the castle compound. He also built residences for his samurai retainers.”
Matsumoto Castle during the Edo Period (1603–1867)
(1) Lords of the Castle
During the Edo period, Matsumoto Castle was governed by 23 successive lords from six families. The castle was the administrative center of Matsumoto domain, which roughly corresponds to what is now the Chūshin region of Nagano Prefecture. At this time, the country was divided into hundreds of such domains, and daimyos were appointed to govern them by order of the Tokugawa shogunate. Daimyos who were loyal to the shogunate would often be relocated to more prestigious domains or given an increased stipend, which was measured in units of rice called koku. Matsumoto’s strategic location and subsequently large stipend made it desirable, and the daimyos that governed the domain were often closely related to the shogun or his family.
| Family Name |
Given Name |
Period of Rule |
| Ishikawa |
Kazumasa |
1590–1592 |
| Yasunaga |
1592–1613 |
| Ogasawara |
Hidemasa |
1613–1615 |
| Tadamasa (Tadazane) |
1615–1617 |
| Toda |
Yasunaga |
1617–1632 |
| Yasunao |
1633–1633 |
| Matsudaira |
Naomasa |
1633–1638 |
| Hotta |
Masamori |
1638–1642 |
| Mizuno |
Tadakiyo |
1642–1647 |
| Tadamoto |
1647–1668 |
| Tadanao |
1668–1713 |
| Tadachika |
1713–1718 |
| Tadamoto |
1718–1723 |
| Tadatsune |
1723–1725 |
| Period of Direct Control by Tokugawa Shogunate |
| Toda |
Mitsuchika |
1726–1732 |
| Mitsuo |
1732–1756 |
| Mitsuyasu |
1756–1759 |
| Mitsumasa |
1759–1774 |
| Mitsuyoshi |
1774–1786 |
| Mitsuyuki |
1786–1800 |
| Mitsutsura |
1800–1837 |
| Mitsutsune |
1837–1845 |
| Mitsuhisa |
1845–1869 |
| Family |
High-Level Government Positions |
Stipend (kokudaka)
1 koku ≈ 180L |
Previous Post |
Next Post |
| Ishikawa |
Hōki no kami (“Lord of Hōki Province”): Kazumasa
Genba no kami (“Chief of Temples and Foreign Affairs”): Yasunaga |
80,000 koku |
Izumi Province |
Stripped of rank, land seized |
| Ogasawara |
Shinano no kami (“Lord of Shinano Province”): Hidemasa
Ukon no taifu (“Fifth-Rank Magistrate of the Right”): Tadazane |
80,000 koku |
Shinano Province,
Iida domain |
Harima Province, Akashi domain (10,000 koku) |
| Toda |
Tanba no kami (“Lord of Tanba Province”): Yasunaga
Sado no kami (“Lord of Sado Province”): Yasunao |
70,000 koku |
Kōzuke Province, Takasaki domain |
Harima Province, Akashi domain (70,000 koku) |
| Matsudaira |
Dewa no kami (“Lord of Dewa Province”): Naomasa |
70,000 koku |
Echizen Province,
Ōno domain |
Izumo Province, Matsue domain (186,000 koku) |
| Hotta |
Kaga no kami (“Lord of Kaga Province”): Masamori |
100,000 koku |
Musashi Province, Kawagoe domain |
Shimōsa Province, Sakura domain (110,000 koku) |
| Mizuno |
Hayato no shō (“Commander of the Hayato”): Tadakiyo and others
Dewa no kami (“Lord of Dewa Province”): Tadamoto and others
Hyūga no kami (“Lord of Hyūga Province”): Tadamoto (r. 1718–1723) |
70,000 koku |
Mikawa Province, Yoshida domain |
Land confiscated |
| Toda |
Tanba no kami (“Lord of Tanba Province”) |
60,000 koku |
Shima Province,
Toba domain |
Abolition of the domain system (haihan-chiken) |
(2) Major Events
This timeline describes some of the key events in the history of Matsumoto Castle and the surrounding domain.
| Year |
Event |
Ruling Family |
| 1504 |
Shimadachi Sadanaga constructs Fukashi Castle (according to available records). |
|
| 1550 |
Takeda Shingen attacks Fukashi Castle, forcing Ogasawara Nagatoki to flee. Shingen begins renovations of Fukashi Castle. |
|
| 1582 |
Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori, functionally eradicating the Takeda family. After a brief clash between daimyos, Fukashi Castle is claimed by Ogasawara Sadayoshi, who renames the site “Matsumoto Castle.” |
|
| 1590 |
The Ogasawara family is transferred to eastern Japan. Toyotomi Hideyoshi awards Matsumoto Castle to Ishikawa Kazumasa. |
Ishikawa |
| 1593 |
Construction of the Great Keep, the Northwest Tower, and the Roofed Passage progresses. |
| 1600 |
The Ishikawa family allies with Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara. |
| 1613 |
Ishikawa Yasunaga is implicated in a tax scandal (the Ōkubo Nagayasu Jiken) and stripped of his rank by Ieyasu. Ogasawara Hidemasa is granted control of Matsumoto Castle. |
Ogasawara |
| 1614 |
The Ogasawara family fights alongside Tokugawa forces during the winter campaign of the Siege of Osaka. |
| 1615 |
Ogasawara Hidemasa and his eldest son, Ogasawara Tadanaga, die during the summer campaign of the Siege of Osaka. |
| 1617 |
Toda Yasunaga is granted control of Matsumoto Castle. He builds more residential areas for samurai to the north of the castle. |
Toda |
| 1633 |
Matsudaira Naomasa is granted control of Matsumoto Castle. He builds the Southeast Wing and the Moon-Viewing Tower and repairs other parts of the castle. |
Matsudaira |
| 1649 |
Mizuno Tadamoto conducts a comprehensive land survey of Matsumoto Domain. |
Mizuno |
| 1686 |
Peasants in the north protest the high annual taxes levied on them by the domanial government. The protest leaders are captured and crucified. |
| 1725 |
The Mizuno family is removed from power after Mizuno Tadatsune attacks someone with his sword on the grounds of Edo Castle. In their absence, development of the castle town is completed. |
| 1726 |
Matsumoto Castle is briefly placed under the direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate, after which the Toda family is once again granted control of the castle. |
Toda |
| 1727 |
The Honmaru Goten burns down. Its functions are transferred to the Ninomaru Goten and the Kosanji Goten. |
| 1743 |
The shogunate grants the Toda family additional territory valued at 50,000 koku. |
| 1760 |
Shinano Province (of which Matsumoto is part) becomes embroiled in a legal dispute regarding sanctions on shipping by horseback along public roads. |
| 1775 |
A large fire breaks out in Matsumoto, and parts of the second and third bailey are damaged. |
| 1793 |
The domain school Sōkyōkan is opened. |
| 1803 |
Another fire breaks out in Matsumoto, and large sections of the city burn. Several samurai residences and temples are damaged or destroyed. |
| 1816 |
An irrigation canal called “Jikkasegi” is built in OAzumino, a village to the north of Matsumoto Castle. |
| 1825 |
Protests erupt in northern Matsumoto domain as tens of thousands of peasants rise up against a sharp increase in the price of rice. |
| 1832 |
The Saigawa Canal is expanded to pass through Matsumoto. |
| 1854 |
A powerful earthquake damages many buildings at the castle and in the town. |
| 1862 |
A samurai from Matsumoto murders two British soldiers in Edo. |
| 1863 |
Matsumoto domain is ordered to help guard Uraga Bay. |
| 1864 |
Matsumoto domain is ordered to participate in the First Chōshū Expedition. Forces from Matsumoto are defeated by masterless samurai (ronin) from Mito domain at the Wada Pass. |
| 1865 |
Fire breaks out in Matsumoto, damaging residential areas in the south. Matsumoto domain is ordered to participate in the Second Chōshū Expedition and dispatches troops to Hiroshima. |
| 1866 |
A protest erupts in the south of Matsumoto domain as peasants rally against rising rice prices. |
| 1868 |
Matsumoto domain allies with the new imperial government and participates in the Battle of Hokuetsu in Hokkaido. |
| 1869 |
Toda Mitsuhisa, the last daimyo of Matsumoto, surrenders his territory to the emperor. |
| 1870 |
An anti-Buddhist movement begins after an imperial edict separates the previously syncretic religions of Buddhism and Shinto. |
| 1871 |
The shogunal domain system is abolished, and Matsumoto domain becomes Matsumoto Prefecture. Several castle gates are demolished, and the castle is placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. Matsumoto Prefecture is soon renamed Chikuma Prefecture, and a prefectural office is established in the castle’s second bailey. |
