Muramatsu Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Niigata

Muramatsu Castle, in the former town of Muramatsu now part of Gosen, was the seat of the Muramatsu Domain, a 30,000-koku fief held by a branch of the Hori clan throughout the Edo period. Founded in 1644 as a mere jinya, a fortified administrative residence ordered by Hori Naoyoshi, it was only granted castle status in 1850 under the ninth lord, Hori Naohisa, making the Hori of Muramatsu one of the few castle-holding daimyo of present-day Niigata Prefecture. This late promotion brought major works, but the complex did not last long: in 1868, during the Boshin War, the domain, a member of the northern alliance, set fire to the castle itself. No buildings remain, but earthen ramparts, moats and a zigzag masugata gate survive in the castle site park, partly restored. The 2.2-hectare park houses a local history museum displaying models of the palace based on old plans, as well as a car from the former Kanbara railway line.