Matsue Castle

Matsue Castle (松江城, Matsue-jō) is a Japanese castle located in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. Matsue Castle was constructed from 1607 to 1611 by Horio Yoshiharu, the first daimyō of the Matsue Domain, during the early Edo period. Ownership was passed to the Izumo branch of the Kyōgoku in 1633 and then the Matsudaira, a junior branch of the ruling Tokugawa clan, in 1637. The Matsudaira donated Matsue Castle to the city of Matsue in 1927. Matsue Castle is one of few remaining feudal Japanese castles in their original wooden form and not a modern concrete reconstruction. Built after the last great war of feudal Japan, the castle has survived earthquakes, fires, wars and other causes that destroyed or damaged other Japanese castles. Several castle buildings were demolished during the early Meiji period with only some of the original keep and stone walls existing today. Matsue Castle, standing on the shores of Lake Shinji, is one of Japan's Three Great Lake Castles and the heart of Matsue's central riverside district.