Musashi-Matsuyama Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Saitama

Musashi-Matsuyama Castle occupies a hill spur in Yoshimi, in Hiki District, wrapped by the Ichino River like a natural moat. Its foundation is traditionally attributed to Ueda Tomonao around 1399, but most of its military history took place in the 16th century: as a gateway between the Kawagoe plain and the northern Kantō, it was one of the most contested strongholds between the Ōgigayatsu Uesugi, the Yamanouchi Uesugi, the Later Hōjō, Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. It held out against the Hōjō in 1537, fell after the Uesugi defeat at Kawagoe in 1546, was retaken for Kenshin and then reconquered in 1563 by the Hōjō with the help of Takeda's miners. Entrusted afterwards to the Ueda clan, vassals of the Hōjō, it surrendered in 1590 to the army of Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu, and was abandoned in 1601. The site preserves a remarkable network of dry moats covering more than half the area of the enclosures, which are stepped along the ridge. Since 2008 it has formed part of the Hiki castle ruins National Historic Site, together with Sugaya, Sugiyama and Ogura, and can be reached on foot from the Hyakuana bus stop, next to the Yoshimi rock-cut tombs.