Kagawa｜400 years of suffering for Takamatsu Castle surrounded by seawater One of the three major water castles in Japan

Only the ruins of Takamatsu Castle remain today, but its status as one of the three major water castles in Japan remains unchanged, the other two being Nakatsu Castle in Oita and Imabari Castle in Ehime. Different from the moat of an ordinary castle, this one draws sea water, and farmed fish and shellfish live inside. In addition to strategic defense, it was also used to transport supplies. The transformation of Takamatsu Castle into a castle ruin must be viewed in the context of history. In 1587, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered Shikoku, the then Sanuki lord Ikoma Yoshimasa built Takamatsu Castle in Nohara for strategic reasons. The current location of Takamatsu Castle was rebuilt by Matsudaira Yorishige during the Edo period when he was transferred here. At that time, Takamatsu Castle was regarded as the symbol of Sanuki Province, but the good times did not last long. In 1869, the land was returned to the daimyo, and the territories in various places were returned to Emperor Meiji, and Takamatsu Castle was abandoned. Later, the castle tower was demolished due to disrepair, and the San-no-maru was blown up during World War II. Since then, Takamatsu Castle has borne the suffering of this land for more than four hundred years. It was not until 1954 that Takamatsu Castle was handed over to the government for management and designated as a national monument, where it was preserved in the form of Tamamo Park. Of the 660,000 square meters in the past, less than one-eighth remains today. The Honmaru and Shobashi Bridge now look like they are floating on the sea, and the castle tower, which was dismantled and rebuilt in 2007, has become the symbol of Takamatsu Castle. 📍Address: 2-1 Tamamocho, Takamatsu, Kagawa 760-0030 Japan 🚗A five-minute walk from JR Takamatsu Station #MarchGoodPlaces2025