Japanese woodblock print, 1934, this is a late edition published by Shoichiro Watanabe from the original woodblocks,

SIZE IN INCHES: oban, 10.5 x 15.5 inches

MATSUMOTO CASTLE (Matsumotojo) is one of the most complete and beautiful among Japan's original castles. It is also a good example of a so called "hirajiro", a castle built on the plain rather than on a hill or mountain although in this print by Kasamatsu it appears to be elevated. Note the two people to the left and the bats circling below the cresent moon. Take a look at my enlargements below to see the incredible detail in this print. Matsumotojo's castle tower and smaller, second turret were built from 1592 to 1614 and were both well defended, as peace was not yet fully secured at the time. In 1635, when no more military threats existed, a third, barely defended turret for moon viewing was added to the castle.

The Matsumoto Castle is located in the Matsumoto Plain and was built by the Ogasawara family. Near the southeast corner of the castle grounds, there was a river and the owners took great advantage of it. Three towers with slanting roofs at different angles were constructed in this area. That way, the heavy snowfall could be lessened and the melted snow would flow into the river. Ishikawa Yasunaga planned and began the construction for the magnificent tenshu and Inui Kotenshu (Northeast Small Tenshu) of this hirajiro (flatland castle) in 1592. Five years later, the tenshu was completed. With six floors, it is quite large and so the Inui Kotenshu was built as a support structure. The Inio Kotenshu has four levels. The main tenshu was also connected to the two towers. The entrance to the tenshu complex is through an opening under the passageway that connects the main tenshu and the Inui Kotenshu. The stone walls (ishigaki) of the tenshu were built using a method called ranseki-zumi.

To the left of the tenshus are two towers: Tatsumi Tsuke-yagura (Southeast Connecting Tower) and Tsukimi Yagura (Moon Viewing Tower). These towers were later added and indicate that by this time, Tokygawa shogunate?peace was less threatened and that the purpose of Japanese castles were starting to change from military purposes to more enjoyable ones. These towers were open to all four directions except for its west side. These open sides have sliding doors, so it was easier to watch the moon, hence the tower's names.

Fine, no flaws