The foundation of the city of Matsue and its castle began in 1607, and the castle was completed in 1611. Military, political, and economic factors, as well as overall infrastructure, were taken into consideration when the castle and its moats were built. For example, the roads of the town were designed to impede potential enemy troops from reaching the castle. Even today, these roads, as well as most of the
Horikawa moats, haven’t changed much, which is quite unusual in Japan. Parts of the samurai district that used to surround the castle still exist in
Shiomi Nawate Street. The temple area of
Teramachi, on the south side of town, had temples that could easily be turned into places to assemble troops, and the foot soldiers lived nearby in the Saikamachi district. You can find an array of historical maps of Matsue showing the evolution of the castle-town from the years 1600 to 2000 inside the
Matsue History Museum.
VISIT MATSUE
