Matsue Castle 1

Matsue Castle is the symbol of the traditional castle town of Matsue. Matsue is the capital city of Shimane prefecture which is located in the west part of Japanese mainland.

The castle was built over a five year period, from 1607 to 1611, by Hirio Yoshiharu, the feudal lord of the Matsue-Han.

Matsue Castle is over 400 years old and is one of the very few remaining original castles, only twelve remaining, of Japan. Most of the hundreds of original castles were destroyed due to earthquakes, fires, wars and political reasons. You can see many Japanese castles here in Japan, but most of them are concrete or modern constructions. 

The castle was being sold at a price of 180 yen in 1875. The price was only as the same value as 6,000 kg of rice at the time. Local farmer Katsube Motoemon and others bought and saved the castle.