East Gate of main bailey (honmaru) of Bitchu Matsuyama castle (17th c.), Takahashi, Japan
East Gate of main bailey (honmaru) of Bitchu Matsuyama castle (17th c.), Takahashi, Japan. Matsuyama is one of only 12 survived castles in Japan Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is well know as being the highest altitude castle in Japan at 480 meters. This was viewed as a strategic location was also viewed as valuable territory for a castle. Akiba Shigenobu built the first castle on a nearby mountain in 1240. In 1331 Takahashi Muneyasu built the first Matsuyama Castle on this site. The main keep and yagura you see today were built by Mizunoya in 1683. This was one of very few 2 level main keep, but being on top of the mountain, there was little need to build a high vantage point. After the Mizunoya there were several different lords until Itakura Katsuyoshi in 1744. His descendents continued to rule until the Meiji restoration.
Size: 2000px × 3000px
Location: Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Photo credit: © Ivan Marchuk / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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