|Admin's Rating||★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆|
|Historical Site||National Historic Site|
|Historical Value||Top 100 Castles, Important Cultural Properties|
Important Cultural Properties:
Kitanomaru Tsukimi Yagura, Kitanomaru Watariyagura, Ushitora Yagura, Kitanomaru Mizute Gomon
|Location||Takamatsu, Kagawa Pref.|
|Access||Takamatsu Sta. (Yosan Line); 10 min walk|
|Notes||not personally visited|
Ikoma Chikamasa was stationed in Takamatsu by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587. He started building the castle in 1588 and it was completed in 1590. Four generations of Ikoma ruled Takamatsu until the 11 year old Takatoshi was re-stationed to the remote Dewa Province in Northeastern Japan in 1639 with greatly reduced lands. This was a punishment for conflicts caused by the Ikoma clan and their retainers. Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandson, Matsudaira Yorishige, replaced Ikoma in Takamatsu. The Matsudaira family continued to rule until the Meiji Period.
In the Edo Period, Takamatsu Castle had a 3 level, 5 story main keep and about 20 yagura. It is uniquely constructed on the waterfront where it draws water from the ocean for it's moats. It is considered one of the 3 great water or waterfront castles. The castle was decomissioned in 1869 and the main keep was torn down in 1884.
There is a strong movement in Takamatsu to rebuild the castle main keep as it was, but they are facing difficulties due to a lack of quality pictures and information about its original structure. Still, the city is proceeding with plans to begin construction in 2010.