GPM 0983 MATSUE - ZAMEK

Matsue Castle (also known as the Black Castle) is a Japanese defensive structure built in the Shimane prefecture on the island of Honshu, near Shinji Lake. The castle is one of the few objects of this type in Japan that has been preserved as a wooden structure. Currently it is on the so-called leaves of one hundred castles of Japan. The founder of Matsue Castle was Taduji Horio, and the construction lasted in the years 1607-1611. The building has the form of a watchtower with six floors. The colloquial name of the building - Black Castle - comes from the fact that most of the walls were painted black. Despite its majestic and, in its own way, ornate architecture, it is a strictly military building. The present appearance of the castle and its surroundings can be dated to 1875, when the entire castle surroundings was destroyed, and only the bergfried (Japanese: tenshu) has survived. The castle happily survived World War II and avoided the great American air raids. In the years 1950-1955 it underwent a major renovation and was subjected to conservation works.