Matsumoto Castle
松本城
Matsumoto Castle is worth visiting for its legends, which reveal facets of its history and cultural legacy.
Good to know
- Legends interweave fact with fancy
- Tales preserve commoner sentiments
- Stories about architecture or lords
Many legends, anecdotes, and folktales have developed over Matsumoto Castle’s centuries of history. Some stories, like “The Carpenter Who Stretched the Castle Beam,” center around aspects of the castle’s architecture, builders, or materials. Others, like “A Parting at Sodetome Bridge,” involve the various castle lords who have come and gone, or the exploits of historical figures who are connected to the castle in some way.
Many of these legends interweave historical fact with popular fancy. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the innermost castle complex was off-limits to all but the highest-ranking samurai families; most commoners could only stare over the moats at the soaring castle and imagine what happened there. Tales such as “The Leaning Castle” and “The Tragedy of Princess Matsu” have preserved the sentiments these commoners held toward the rich samurai elite.
Whether you believe these tales or not, each reveals some small facet of the castle, its history, and its cultural legacy in Matsumoto.
Text: 観光庁 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース. Reproduced unchanged.
Where it is
Matsumoto Castle Open in Google Maps
この施設の関係者の方へ
このページは公開情報をもとに Japan Gems が作成し、訪日外国人向けに英語で掲載しています。 写真や情報の追加・修正を承っています。お店の写真に差し替えることもできます。
このページの情報を更新する
