Matsumae Castle

On Saturday May 12th, our group had the opportunity to go to Matsumae! During this time, we were able to see not only Matsumae Castle, but the rest of the small castle town. Originally, this town was lived in by the Ainu people, who are the indigenous people of Japan. In 1604, the Matsumae Clan came and turned the castle town into a place of trade and wealth, which brought the name “Little Kyoto of the North” to the town. The castle itself was built in 1854 and is officially named Fukuyama Castle. It was the last Japanese style castle to be built in Japan, and originally was not under control by the Matsumae clan until Matsumae Takahiro, the 13th head of the Matsumae Clan, and Hijikata Tishizo, a sub-leader of Shinsengumi took it over. Today, visitors can see 55 monuments that are dedicated to the Matsumae Clan.


Unfortunately, our trip to Matsumae was brief because we were on a bus tour for the day, but the area itself was extremely beautiful! There were ten thousand cherries trees with a variety of 250 types to blossom in the park. Not only were there cherry trees, but there was a patch of some lovely white dandelions that are a rare find in Japan. Also, there were 5 temples and shrines throughout the town, including the Ryu’un’in Temple, which is well known throughout Japan.  


Whether people are interested in the history or not, the small town is a wonderful place to explore… which makes me wonder if people actually know about the history of Matsumae, or if they simply go to the historical sight to say that they went, or just to get a picture. Speaking from personal experience, I am very guilty of going to “cool” places and yet not engaging with the culture in a way to educate myself more and more on the topics that are found at the place I am visiting. So, our group has started asking people if they know the history of Matsumae Castle. We have not been able to poll many people yet, but so far from the few surveyed, it sounds like they do not know the history of the castle and have not been to visit it.

Before our program ends, I am hoping to ask more people if they have been to Matsumae. If they have visited the castle, I will ask them if they know the history of it and can recall some important facts about the town or any other historical information.



Here I am at Matsumae running away on some takeuma (a traditional Japanese pass time) to do more research... 





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