Bithu Matsuyama Castle
Standing on top of Mt. Gagyu at an altitude of 430 meters, the main keep of Bitchu Matsuyama Castle is a National Important Cultural Property of Japan. Of all the original keeps still remaining in Japan, this is the only one that belongs to a mountaintop castle.
The castle’s origins date back to the Kamakura period, when Akiba Shigenobu built a castle on Mt. Omatsuyama. The castle in its present location was renovated by Mizunoya Katsumune over three years ending in 1683, resulting in the main keep that has survived to this day.
Around the steep approach to the castle is a massive, bluff-like rock wall over 10 meters in height, an evocative reminder of the famed impregnable castle this once was. The black of the lower parts of the castle contrasts wonderfully with its white plastered walls as the castle’s beautiful keep shines in the blue sky. In the fall, the trees near Otemon Gate turn red and gold creating an outstanding view of the castle’s stone walls covered in a fiery vermillion.
