[1] The only traditional style Edo period castle in Hokkaidō, it was the chief residence of the han (estate) of the Matsumae clan.

First built in 1606 by daimyo Matsumae Yoshihiro under orders from the Tokugawa shogunate, which required his clan to defend the area, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" to the north.

The present castle complex, which dates from 1854, was constructed to deter attacks by foreign naval forces.

Only the 30-metre-high tenshu (main tower) and a gatehouse survived destruction following the Meiji Restoration, which began in 1868.

More than 200,000 people visit the Matsumae Sakura Festival every spring to see cherry blossoms.