Ultimate Fun in Western Japan (3): Heading to Matsuyama in Shikoku

Matsuyama is the largest city in Shikoku and also a literary city with warm-hearted people. The elegance of haiku is infused in the blood of Matsuyama residents. In parks or public buildings, there are often wooden boxes that collect haiku poems, and outstanding works are regularly published to encourage the creative efforts of Matsuyama citizens. Within the city, you can look up and see Matsuyama Castle on the mountain. This connected-style flatland mountain castle, ranked among Japan’s three great castles alongside Himeji Castle and Wakayama Castle, is truly the pride of the people of Matsuyama.

Matsuyama Castle was built in 1627. Its first feudal lord, Matsudaira Sadayuki, was a half-brother of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He revised the tax system to reduce the burden on farmers and improved the public facilities at Dogo Onsen. Though low-key in his actions, he was deeply loved by the people. To get to Matsuyama Castle, you can take the mountain cable car or hike up the mountain for about 40 minutes. Even before entering the castle, you’ll be amazed by the huge stone walls. The edges of the stones are as neat as tofu cut with a knife, angular and precise, and the craftsmanship of stacking the stones one by one is nothing short of miraculous.

Japanese castles can be simply divided from the inside out into the keep (tenshukaku), honmaru (main enclosure), ninomaru (second enclosure), and sannomaru (third enclosure), all surrounded by walls and chambers. The further inside you go, the more solemn it becomes. Coming up the mountain via cable car and then climbing step by step to buildings like the keep makes you wonder how inconvenient it must have been for the feudal lords to live there. It turns out that the honmaru was where the lord discussed politics and met with his vassals—essentially the lord’s office. Otherwise, climbing up every day would be exhausting.