Matsuyama Castle (Dewa)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture de Yamagata

In the heart of the old town of Matsumine, now part of the city of Sakata, Matsuyama Castle was the seat of the small Dewa-Matsuyama Domain, a cadet branch of the Shōnai Domain held by the Sakai clan. The site began modestly as an administrative residence (jin'ya) set up in the village of Nakayama, later renamed Matsuyama. It was not until 1781 that Sakai Tadayoshi, the third lord, raised to the rank of castle lord, began building a true castle, largely completed within seven years. A notable peculiarity: the castle never received a keep or turrets; the two-storey tower planned for the main enclosure remained a project, and the third enclosure was only partly built. After the abolition of the domains, every building disappeared except the Ōtemon gate, a turret gate rebuilt in 1792 with funding from the Sakata merchant Honma Shigetoshi after a fire caused by lightning. Crowned with shachihoko more than a metre tall, it is described as the only surviving castle building in Yamagata Prefecture. The site is now Matsuyama Historical Park, where earthen ramparts and moats can still be made out.