A Daimyo’s Home – Matsumoto Castle

Strange Houses — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:26:34 +0000

A short train ride from Tokyo will take you to the city of Matsumoto, and to Matsumoto Castle. One of Japan’s most stunning castles, Matsumoto Castle (also called Matsumotojo) was built during the Sengoku peroid – which is dubbed the Warring States period. It was a time of conflict in Japan that stretched from the mid-15th century to the start of the 17th century.

During this time, guys called Daimyo lorded over their territories of Japan, and some of them lived in these types of castles, which were built into hills or on the edges of rivers to help fortify them and protect them. Matsumoto Castle is special because it is built on a plain, although it is elevated and surrounded by a moat.

The history of the castle is long and complicated. At first it was a fort called Fukashi Castle. Built in 1504, it changed rulers in 1550 and the new rulers built onto Fukashi, adding multiple towers, the keep (which is a Japanese national treasure), and more. The final product was finished around 1594.

The castle stood throughout the rest of the feudal period in Japan. 6 daimyo families ruled Matsumoto until the Mejii Restoration in the 1870′s. The Mejii Restoration saw a lot of changes in Japan’s political structure and did away with the feudal style of governing. At that time, Matsumoto Castle was auctioned off to the city government.

Eventually, the outer castle was demolished but the keep and many of the towers remain. Kobayashi Unari, a high school principal in the late 1800′s, raised funds to renovate the ancient castle, and it was renovated between 1903 and 1913. It was renovated further in the 1950′s, and again in 1990 and 1999.

Today the castle is open for tours and is home to many activities during the course of the year. You can see the cherry blossoms in April, go to a Moon Viewing party in the autumn, or go to the drum festival in the summertime.

photo by ken2754@Yokohama

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Dar Al Hajar – A Summer Home

Strange Houses — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:28:40 +0000

photo by Baron Moe

This palatial summer home was built by Amir al-Mumenin al-Mutawakkil ‘Ala Allah Rab ul-Alamin Imam Yahya bin al-Mansur Bi’llah Muhammad Hamidaddin, Imam and Commander of the Faithful. Why don’t we call him Imam for short?

Imam was the King of Yemen from 1926 to 1948, when he was assassinated. We don’t go too far into politics or anything here on YLW, but apparently he was a pretty fair and nice guy, and he had 14 sons, so they were probably pretty sad.

Back to Dar Al-Hajar, though, because is that a beautiful place or what? Imam had the place constructed as a summer home, and it was constructed on an already-existing prehistoric structure. This particular valley that Dar Al-Hajar overlooks is a fertile ancient land that is talked about in rock drawings, for Pete’s sake. Scholars speculate that the old construction on top of the mountain where Dar Al-Hajar was built was older than recorded history. That’s, needless to say, pretty darn cool.

The structure itself is 7 stories tall, with open courtyards and little pools everywhere. It has 35 rooms and the stairs look like they were built into the rocks. They probably were. The entrance has a 700-year old tree in it. Even though Imam had the place built in the 1930′s, it looks like a place completely out of time. A place of beauty and wonder that I’m sure his 14 sons enjoyed – from ducking in and out of the courtyards to exploring the caves beneath (unless the caves were really used for corpses, as rumors say).

Dar Al-Hajar is open to the public now as a sort of museum, though the Yemen travel website says that its “only jewel is the building itself.”

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Strange Houses & Weird Homes » castles

A Daimyo’s Home – Matsumoto Castle

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Dar Al Hajar – A Summer Home

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