The young and brave Matsudaira Naomasa – 松平氏

A grandchild of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Matsudaira Naomasa is remembered for his valour in the Battle of Osaka (1615) at the young age of 14. The enemy general and a hero of the age, Sanada Yukimura, was besieged inside Osaka Castle, but was so impressed with young Naomasa’s prowess that he gave him his battle fan that was used to give military commands. The fan is still on display inside Matsue Castle.

The empowerment of Naomasa as the lord of the Matsue domain marked the start of the longest reign a single family held at Matsue Castle, spanning 10 generations (1638-1871). The graves of the Matsudaira clan lords are found at Gessho-ji Temple, near the castle.