According to the CastleSite: "The history of Matsumoto Castle (Matsumoto-jo) actually begins with a castle called Fukashi-jo which was built by Shimadachi Sadanaga in 1504. That castle was attacked and captured by Takeda Shingen in 1550.

Matsumoto is a pleasant and interesting city of 200,000 souls, set amidst the stunning scenery of the Japanese Alps in Nagano Prefecture, about three hours from Tokyo by train. I tried in vain for four years to reach the city using the Japan Rail youth pass (Seishun-juhachi-kippu), and had given up because the youth pass only allows you to travel on the slow local trains, which take forever to get anywhere. In August 2005, during the Obon Summer Holidays, I was offered a free ticket to Matsumoto and nearby Chino by an older Japanese friend, Mr Tanaka, and I instinctively leapt at the opportunity! At long last, I had the means and the chance to explore this fascinating corner of Japan, bounded by the peaks of the Japan Alps and punctuated by the famed waters of Lake Suwa! A whole new corner of the world was open to me, and I would have the chance to make contacts there! And so it came to pass that on the hot morning of August 15 2005 I arrived in Matsumoto City, to partake in the pleasures that it offered. I was not disappointed by my experience!

Matsumoto is a nice little town... so agreed John Harvey on his travelogue website, when he wrote: "Matsumoto has a black castle. The castle is only a small part of what used to be the castle complex - the outer moats are filled, the other buildings torn down and the roads rearranged. The castle was in pretty bad shape in the 1900's and was completly rebuilt in the last 100 years - but it's still original materials.

"The inside of the castle is set up as a museum. They show various artifacts from the eras this castle stood. The castle was built after gun powder was used in Japan so the castle was specific designed to resist shot."

In 1543 the Portuguese introduced guns to Japan. According to the sources at the time, firearms spread rapidly throughout Japan, greatly changing the art of war. The impact of their introduction, is written all over the architectural design of Matsumoto Castle. You can also see many of the venerated old firearms inside the castle, or the nearby museum.

It's about defence, defence, defence: the staircases at Matsumoto Castle were deliberately designed to be difficult to climb, to make it that much harder for invaders to penetrate. The same creed was taken as a motto for the design of Greater Matsumoto City. According to one webcaster: "You will notice when walking around the town that there are few crossroads - most intersections are L-shaped or T-shaped, this was quite deliberate in that era, in that it further aided the defence of the castle, providing extra fields of fire to draw an enemy into (though at the expense of the town burning down during the battle). The Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are located on the east side of the town. To the west were the samurai and the merchants. The merchants were forced to live in one of three areas according to their social ranking and/or occupation - three neighbourhoods on the main street, ten on the byroads, and 24 narrow alleyways. The samurai was also divided into middle class and lower class neighbourhoods - and these were actually separated by a gate."