Matsusaka Castle Ruins

The Matsusaka Castle Ruins, located in Tonomachi, Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, are the remains of a hirayama-style castle built on the isolated hill of Yoiho-no-mori, Approx. 38 meters above sea level.

The castle was built in 1588, just three years after the Sengoku warlord Gamo Ujisato was granted Approx. 120,000 koku in southern Ise. Although structures such as the castle keep no longer remain, many strong and grand stone walls still survive, preserving the look of the castle in its former days. Its layout is characterized by enclosures such as the honmaru, ninomaru, and sannomaru arranged across the hill, with the main entrance to the northeast and the rear entrance to the southeast.

Since the Meiji era, the site’s role as a castle was dismantled and transformed, and in 1881 it became a prefectural park. Development has continued since then under the Urban Park Act. In 2006, it was selected as one of the Japan Castle Foundation’s “Top 100 Japanese Castles,” and in 2011 it was designated a National Historic Site.

Today, the site has been maintained as a park, where the stone walls and castle town scenery grow even more beautiful with the changing seasons. Beyond its historical value, it is also cherished as a place in the heart of town where visitors can experience these precious remains firsthand.