Takamatsu Castle

Takamatsu Castle was built in 1590 in the port town, and was the first and largest castle built as a sea castle in the early modern period. Also known as Tamamo Castle.

The castle tower does not exist, but the Kitanomaru Tsukimi-yagura, Kitanomaru Mizute-gomon, Kitanomaru Watari-yagura, and the former East Maru Gon-yagura (Ushitora-yagura) still exist and are designated as important cultural properties.

The gate, some stonewalls, and moat also still exist, and the castle ruins are maintained as “Tamamo Park,” which is designated as a national historic site.

The name “Tamamo Castle” is said to have originated from the poem “Tamamoyoshi” written by Kakihoninmaro in Manyoshu (The Anthology of Myriad Leaves), in which he wrote “Tamamoyoshi” as a pillow word for Sanuki province, and the sea in this area was called “Tamamo no ura” (Tamamo’s beach).

The castle was built in 1587 by Ikomachikamasa, who was given 176,000 koku of land in Sanuki by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and entered the prefecture as the lord of the land.

The three-story, five-story castle tower was built in the castle’s main circle, with the lowest portion protruding from the tower’s base and the uppermost portion built of Karazukuri (Chinese-style architecture).

The castle is said to be one of the three most famous water castles in Japan, as it drew seawater from the Seto Inland Sea into its outer, middle, and inner moats.
The moats rise and fall with the ebb and flow of the sea, and many saltwater fish, including sea breams, swim in the moats.