Takamatsu Castle ｜ JAPAN CASTLE history oshiro guide site

HOME > Takamatsu Castle

Takamatsu Castle

【 Shikoku 】 area

Structure, the history, charm of Takamatsu Castle

Takamatsu Castle is a castle (Flatland Castle) which was in current Tamamocho, Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa of Shikoku of Japan.

Takamatsu Castle was built in the port town called " Nohara " after Shikoku control of Hideyoshi Toyotomi by Chikamasa Ikoma who became a feudal lord of Sanuki one country in 1587. Because this nearby sea was called " Tamamo no Ura ", so it was called the Tamano Castle,too.
The Ninomaru, Sannomaru, Kitanomaru, Higashinomaru, Sakuranobaba, Nishinomaru were placed clockwise around a Honmaru, and a moat was made to go around this Castle to three folds. A Castle Wall faced the Seto Inland Sea directly in the past, and seawater was drawn into all of outer moat, average moat, inner moats, and a warship came to be able to go in and out of the inside of a Castle directly and the use of water forces entered the field of vision, too and was designed . Therefore this Castle is classified as first Japanese full-scale " Mizu Shiro (Warter Castle) ". Mizu Shiro is difficult to block the sea and can not use siege tools such as water attacks and water cuts. In addition, at the time of war, there are advantages such as making a siege war, bringing supplies, and escaping from the castle to the sea and was advantageous for the early modern territory.
After Ikoma four generations, Yorishige Matsudaira who was the whole families of the Mito Tokugawas would rule the Takamatsu feudal clan and constructed the Castle Tower. The Castle Tower did the rare structure that the fifth floor and the first floor greatly projected into on triple the fifth floor said to be " Nanban building ". The this Takamatsu Matsudairas ruled the Takamatsu feudal clan until the Meiji Restoration. This Castle Tower has been dismantled in 1884.