JAPAN ALMANAC
Interpretive illustrated fallback for Matsue Castle; not a site photograph.

Castle Atlas / No. 64

Matsue Castle

Matsue Castle is Foundation list no. 64, recorded in 島根県松江市 as a 平山城 site associated with 堀尾吉晴 and 堀尾氏、京極氏、松平氏.

Open in Google MapsOfficial visitor source

History

What historically stood here

The Japan Castle Foundation records 松江城 as a 平山城 site in 松江市, with the founding label 慶長16年（1611）. The listed builder or associated clan is 堀尾吉晴; principal lords are 堀尾氏、京極氏、松平氏.

Today

What you are actually seeing today

The atlas currently classifies the visible condition as original surviving keep. Check the linked operator page for current hours, fees and restoration details.

Current condition
Original surviving keep
Terrain
Hirayamajiro: hill-on-plain castle
Condition note
Keep field marks the keep as surviving (現存). Classified 2026-09-24 from the structured fields at https://cmeg.jp/w/castles/7553.

Architecture And Defense

How to read the place

This record still needs feature-level reporting. For now, do not assume the most visible modern structure is the most historically important part of the castle.

Cultural-property notes in the Foundation row: 国指定史跡, 国宝1件（天守）.

National Treasure context: listed in Foundation cultural-property field.

Visit

Present-day visitor information

Foundation-linked visitor source available; current hours, fees, closures and restoration information have not been republished in this first atlas pass.

Address or access location
島根県松江市殿町
Coordinates
35.475059, 133.050723
Nearest useful station
See official visitor information.
Estimated visit duration
See official visitor information.
Opening hours
Check the official visitor source.
Admission
Check the official visitor source.

Nearby

Castles close enough to compare

Sources

Source and correction context

Identity, list membership, Foundation list number, municipality, basic classification and cultural-property notes are source-verified. Site-level visitor details require additional review unless this record is publishable. Foundation numbers are official list identifiers, not rankings. Coordinates use the Foundation-linked position-data KML and should be treated as visitor-planning coordinates rather than archaeological survey points.

Sources

  1. Japan's Top 100 and Continued Top 100 Castle Position Data, Japan Castle Foundation / Nippon Castle. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used for the 200 castle addresses and coordinates exposed through the public map linked from the Japan Castle Foundation castle-search page.
  2. Japan's Top 100 Castles, Japan Castle Foundation. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used for the official identity, list number, list membership, location municipality, castle type, founding label, builders, principal lords, cultural-property notes, and keep-status notes for the original 100-castle selection.
  3. Discover Japan's Twelve Original Castles, Japan National Tourism Organization. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used as visitor-facing context for the surviving original-keep distinction, while individual list identity remains sourced to the Japan Castle Foundation.
  4. 100 Fine Castles of Japan and Continued 100 Fine Castles of Japan, Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-09-04. Used only as a secondary cross-check for common English castle names; Japan Castle Foundation records remain the corpus source of truth.
  5. Nippon Shiro Meguri castle records: keep structure, remains and rebuilt structures, Nippon Shiro Meguri (cmeg.jp). Accessed 2026-09-24. Structured fields for each of the 200 castles, used to classify what stands at each site today. The linked record for each castle is its coordinate source.