En un regard
Le château en bref
Matsumae Castle, known as Fukuyama-jō in its Japanese heritage designation, stands near the southern coast of Hokkaidō, facing the Tsugaru Strait. Its history falls into two distinct stages. Between 1600 and 1606, Matsumae Yoshihiro, who had given up the Kakizaki surname in 1599, established the seat of his house here; it is sometimes described as a jin'ya or Fukuyama-kan rather than as a castle in the full sense. A shogunal order of 1849 concerned with coastal defence led to the demolition of this complex from 1850 and to the building of a new stronghold, completed in 1854. This late date makes it a fortification conceived on the eve of Japan's opening, when foreign ships were a growing concern for the Edo government. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its location was judged unfavourable and that plans to move it resurfaced repeatedly.
The buildings suffered long attrition after the Meiji Restoration. In 1875, stone walls and moats were partly removed, while the keep, the honmaru gate and a section of the palace were retained. The keep, made a National Treasure in 1941, was destroyed on 5 June 1949 by a fire that started in the neighbouring town hall. The present tower, with a reinforced-concrete structure, was completed in 1960 and has housed a museum since 1961. The Honmaru Gomon gate, dated 1853, remains in place and has been an Important Cultural Property since 8 May 1941. The entrance of the main palace, designated by Hokkaidō, is preserved in the museum. The site has been protected as a National Historic Site since 1935, jointly with Tate Castle, under the shared title of the castle sites of the Matsumae family.
