1. Home
  2. Chugoku
  3. Okayama
  4. Takahashi
  5. Places
  6. Bitchu Matsuyama Castle
Castle · Okayama · Chugoku

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle

備中松山城

Mountain castle built in 1240 and rebuilt in 1331 on its current location, retaining its tenshu, Niju yagura, and section of defensive walls.

Bitchu Matsuyama Castle
Bitchu Matsuyama Castle © by Reggaeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opening hours
Mon–Sun 09:00–17:30
Holidays 09:00–17:30
Admission
Everyone Free
Links
Official website English · Japanese
Access
1, Uchisange, Takahashi City, Okayama
〒 716-0004
How to get there
Nearest stationBitchu-Takahashi Station
備中高梁
Hakubi Line80 min walk from the station

Matsuyama Castle is a castle located in Matsuyama, Japan. It was originally built on a nearby mountain in 1240 AD by Akiba Shigenobu, but was later rebuilt on its current site on Mount Gagyu in 1331 by Takahashi Muneyasu. The castle was enlarged and extended by Mimura Motochika, who used it to defend against the Amako clan. In 1600, it became part of the Bitchu-Matsuyama Domain and was repaired by officers of the Tokugawa shogunate. In the Edo period, the castle was ruled by several different lords, including the Mizunoya, Ando, and Ishikawa clans. After the Meiji Restoration, the castle fell into disrepair and was partly destroyed, but restoration work began in 1929. Today, only a short section of wall, the Niju yagura, and the tenshu remain standing.

Getting There

Map: Getting to Bitchu Matsuyama Castle. Legend: Hakubi Line; Shinkansen. Labelled stations: Okayama, Hiroshima, Shin-Kurashiki, Soja, Kurashiki, Bitchu-Takahashi.

Planning a trip? Fit this into a trip and Oni plans the rest around it.

At Hey Japan!, we strive to keep the places listed on our website as current as possible. However, location owners or management may alter opening times or modify admission requirements without prior notice. Check official websites before visiting.

Keep exploring

You might also like

Castle

Marugame Castle

Seventeenth-century castle with distinctive 20-meter stone walls, rebuilt in 1640 and completed in 1670, ranked among Japan's Top 100 Castles.

Marugame · Kagawa
Castle

Nagoya Castle

Castle constructed in 1612 as the center of a major Edo-era post station, destroyed in World War II bombing but reconstructed since 1957.

Nagoya · Aichi
Castle

Inuyama Castle

Castle with a watchtower believed to be Japan's oldest tenshu, dating to the 1580s and rebuilt multiple times before being seized after the Meiji Restoration.

Inuyama · Aichi
Festival

Bizen Pottery Festival

This pottery festival in Japan's Heritage-certified Bizen production area offers visitors the chance to buy ware and try their hand at the potter's wheel.

17–18 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetBizen · Okayama
Festival

Kurashiki Tenryo Summer Festival

A renowned summer festival features over 3,500 participants in the Daikan Bayashi-Odori dance, decorated floats, and traditional performances.

25 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKurashiki · Okayama
Festival

Dogeza Festival

An October festival in which a portable shrine is carried in a procession led by participants dressed as samurai, while local residents bow along the streets.

15 Oct 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNiimi · Okayama