Matsumoto Castle by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

Matsumoto Castle is one of the very few original castles in Japan which survived the fire bombings of WW2. Most of the extant castles are reproductions which are concrete and steel on the inside. This is the original wooden construction using complex joinery and built without nails.

---------- Post added 13-01-20 at 12:07 PM ----------

This is the inner moat. In the 16th century there was an outer moat which enclosed the entire town.

[pichaser]

I would love to have peek at the joinery .

[Jonathan Mac]

I visited the one in Osaka which is a reproduction. Very beautiful but it's not the same knowing it's not the original. As they were made of wood they were very susceptible to fire.

[ToddK]

That is a beautiful structure, very well photographed. I would love to look inside of it.

[RobG]

I would love to have peek at the joinery .

Kanazawa castle had some good models of the complex joints used. There's videos on youtube which demonstrate them. Some of the joints are astonishing. Most of the traditional structures sat on the foundations without being attached to them, and were designed to flex in earthquakes and typhoons.

I visited the one in Osaka which is a reproduction. Very beautiful but it's not the same knowing it's not the original. As they were made of wood they were very susceptible to fire.

Yes, most of them burned down in WW2. However, I recently learned that most of the castles were actually demolished in the Meiji restoration so that they weren't rallying points for the old samurai culture. Most of the contemporary reproductions (like Osaka) are concrete and steel. There's only a handful which use the original wooden construction; three I've been to are Himeji, Matsumoto and Matsue.

That is a beautiful structure, very well photographed. I would love to look inside of it.

The interiors are generally set up as museums, but you can still see where the shoji screens used to be, where the guards used to hide, the gun ports and arrow slits. I recently saw a documentary on NHK which explained that the "murder holes" on the lowest level of the castles weren't for dropping rocks as in the machicolations in European castles. They are actually a form of arrow/gun slit to shoot anyone trying to climb the wall.

[Jonathan Mac]

Yes, most of them burned down in WW2. However, I recently learned that most of the castles were actually demolished in the Meiji restoration so that they weren't rallying points for the old samurai culture. Most of the contemporary reproductions (like Osaka) are concrete and steel. There's only a handful which use the original wooden construction; three I've been to are Himeji, Matsumoto and Matsue.

Ah yes, the one I went inside was actually Himeji, not Osaka. We didn't bother going into the Osaka castle as we'd already been in the Himeji one and we were pressed for time doing a one-day tour of Osaka from Kyoto (I think we were out for 14 hours in total, most of it walking - it was avery long day).

[Dan Paris]

well done, good panoramic view

[Sailor]

Very nice, Rob!

Jer

[RobG]

Ah yes, the one I went inside was actually Himeji, not Osaka. We didn't bother going into the Osaka castle as we'd already been in the Himeji one and we were pressed for time doing a one-day tour of Osaka from Kyoto (I think we were out for 14 hours in total, most of it walking - it was a very long day).

You saw the best one, in my opinion. Not only is Himeji huge, it also maintains the original construction and has many interesting features. The spiral entry path with multiple gates demonstrated a far better defensive strategy than European castles of the 16th century.

well done, good panoramic view

Thank you!

Very nice, Rob!

Thanks Jer! That was day one - hopefully there's a few more good photos from the trip.