Among the tourist goals of Nippon Castle fans, the "12-day Castle" must be an indispensable focus, most of which are places that can be reached on foot in large cities, and the only place to sit in the deep mountains is the "Bichu Matsuyama Castle" in Okayama Prefecture, which has the magnificent beauty of the towers and the sense of tranquility away from the hustle and bustle, and in a specific season there is a chance to see the dreamy scenery of the "Sky City", as the footsteps of free travel players are more and more extended, this hundred famous cities are also attracting more and more attention. Let's take a look at the pace of reporters!
▋About Bichu Matsuyama Castle
A Japanese mountain castle located on Woniu Mountain in the north of Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture , was originally named " Matsuyama Castle " , but in order to avoid confusion with Matsuyama Castle in other regions , it is commonly used to be called " Bichu Matsuyama Castle " , and another name is " Sorghum Castle " . The castle tower on Komatsuyama was a wooden castle keep that was renovated in 1683 during the Sengoku period, and although it was once sold off, it was later restored to the opportunity to renovate, and is one of the 12 existing castle keeps.
▋History of Bichu Matsuyama Castle
The history of this castle is quite long, the earliest was in the Kamakura period in the Woniu Mountains in the middle of the Big Pine Mountain tower, and later in the Warring States period the lord of the city Mimura Motokin transferred the main position to Komatsu Mountain, began to build a relatively large-scale city pool, it became a very important military stronghold in Beichin. Later, after several changes in the castle and the expansion of the castle, the castle tower was rebuilt to become what it is today during the Edo period during the mizutani Katsumasa period, and later because of the inconvenience of the mountain castle, the residence of the lords and courtiers of the clan was built in the foothills of the mountain and called "Gone Hut".
Overall map of Matsuyama Castle
One of the precious 12 surviving kepts
During the Meiji period, most of the buildings under the mountain were demolished, and yamashiro was auctioned off to merchants, but due to the inconvenience of transportation on the mountain, the merchants did not intend to demolish it and let it fall, until the early Showa period through the investigation and restoration of local heroes, some of the buildings were preserved to become one of the precious 12-day castle, and in the early Heisei period, they also restored the buildings in the castle, and in 2006, they were selected as the 68th of the 100 famous castles in Japan.
Small and cute castle tower
Interior of the Castle Tower (1st Floor)
▋Famous city spots and nearby attractions
The highest elevation of the existing celestial keep
In fact, the entire area of Bizhong Matsuyama Castle covers several peaks of Mount Woniu, but the general term "Bichu Matsuyama Castle" mainly refers to the komatsuyama castle at the top of Komatsuyama (elevation 430 meters), including the wooden castle keep. The structure of the castle tower is a two-storey, two-storey composite watchtower type castle tower , and since the entrance is a corridor-like annex ( defense tower ) next to the ishigaki at the base of the castle tower , it is not high in height but looks like having three floors. According to historical records, the annex was originally a corridor connecting another Hachinohei, so the entrance to the castle tower was originally at Hachinohei, which was a rather ingenious structural design.
It looks like there is a three-story castle tower
The side of the adjoining is actually a connecting corridor
In addition to being the only mountain castle among the 12 existing castle keeps, the design originally considered that if the castle lord encountered a siege battle, he could also cook and eat in the castle tower, so there was a "owry pit (囲࣒谷)" on the first floor, and there was also a "dress between the clothes" behind the main hall, which was the living room of the lord's family during the war, which was a rare structure in the design of the castle keep, so it also attracted the attention of many Japanese city fans.
An irori pit inside the castle tower
The living room of the city lord's family "between the costumes"
Double bridge
On the north side of the castle tower, there is a defense tower "DoiJo" built on a rock plate, which is also an ancient building left over from the Edo period and is therefore designated as an important cultural property (the interior is not open for visitors).
A double bridge located behind the castle tower
A double bridge built on a rock plate
Large hand doorway with towering stone walls
From the remains of the Otemon Gate, there are many towering ishigakis, some of which are built on top of rock plates or extend along the slopes, forming quite spectacular multi-layered ishigakis, and the magnificent beauty of the mountain castle and the natural rock plates is amazing, so it was chosen as a scene in the opening animation of the famous nhk Ōkawa drama Sanada Maru.
Earthen Wall (Earthen Wall)
After arriving at the Ote Gate from the Denjo Trail, on the other side of the spectacular ishigaki you can see the white-walled earthen wall winding along the stone steps, of which some of the Sannohei stone steps are important cultural properties, and the other sections are mostly reconstructed according to the configuration of this section of the earthen wall.
White-walled earthen walls winding up the hillside (Sannohei section)
Originally, the city was all surrounded by a white-walled earthen wall
A city in the sky on a sea of clouds
In addition to being the tallest mountain castle in the existing castle keep, Bichu Matsuyama Castle is also one of the famous "Castles in the Sky", and in the early mornings of the morning and evening temperature differences in autumn and winter (especially from late October to early December), it is easy to create thick fog and seas of clouds due to the nearby terrain, so from the observation deck on the top of the mountain opposite, you can see the castle that looks like a castle floating on the clouds, and the fantastic scenery is the same as the ruins of Takeda Castle in Hyogo Prefecture and Echizen-Ono Castle in Fukui Prefecture.
The sky-filled morning is the easiest to see in the sky!
Super cute! Cute Orange Cat Lord "Thirty Lang"
Not only is the beautiful castle and the Sky Castle a sight to behold, but in the summer of 2018, Bichu Matsuyama Castle also welcomed the super popular new city owner, the orange cat "Sanshiro (さんじゅーろー)"! It is said that originally because of the rainy day accidentally lost from the house, a week later was found wandering in Bichu Matsuyama Castle, after which the original owner agreed to transfer the cat to the tourism association, so it was officially welcomed to the city to breed, and now every day at the city gate to welcome visitors, but also for the ancient city to inject a new breath of healing!
The town of Kinoshita is around
After visiting the spectacular castle on the mountain, you can also visit other attractions under the mountain on the way back!
Samurai Residence Orii family
Samurai Residence The Kayahara Family
Takahashi City Tourist Property Museum
Koliang City Rural Archives
▋Tour information and transportation methods
1. How do I get to Bichu Matsuyama Castle?
Take the Shinkansen and JR train Kansai Main Line to Bichu-Takara Station (about 2 hours from Osaka), then transfer to a taxi or sightseeing bus (about 10 minutes) and get off at The Mid-Noboru Walk Midway Station on the mountainside for about 20 to 30 minutes on foot.
Shared taxi (※Advance reservation required)
2. Opening hours
In recent years, perhaps due to the influence of many well-known historical dramas, japanese and foreign tourists have become more and more interested in the attractions of Japantown, so local governments have gradually attached importance to related tourism resources, and the ancient cities that were not easy to reach in the wilderness in the past also have more and more convenient means of transportation to get to! Travelers who have not yet visited Bichu Matsuyama Castle, so plan your next trip to this spectacular mountain town!