Yuzuki Castle

Yuzuki Castle (ゆづきじょう) is located within today’s Dōgo Park in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, and is a historic Japanese castle ruin. Although the castle buildings themselves no longer exist, the moats and earthen ramparts remain preserved, and the site has been designated as a National Historic Site.

The castle was first constructed around 1335 (Kenmu 2) by Kōno Michimori, the shugo (military governor) of Iyo Province, and became an important stronghold of the Kōno clan. Over the following centuries, Yuzuki Castle experienced wars and shifts of power. In 1365, Kōno Michitaka captured the castle, which was then under the control of the Hosokawa faction. Around 1535, Kōno Michinao further strengthened the fortifications by building an outer moat. During the Sengoku period, Chōsokabe Motochika invaded Iyo in his bid to unify Shikoku, resulting in fierce battles with the Kōno clan at Yuzuki Castle.

In 1585, during Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Shikoku Campaign, Kobayakawa Takakage led the assault, and after about a month of resistance, Yuzuki Castle finally surrendered. After the downfall of the Kōno clan, the castle briefly came under the control of Fukushima Masanori, but was soon abandoned. In 1602, Katō Yoshiaki began constructing Matsuyama Castle on Mount Katsuyama, and some of the building materials from Yuzuki Castle (such as roof tiles) were repurposed for the new castle.

As time passed, Yuzuki Castle gradually fell into ruin. In 1888, the site was redeveloped as the Prefectural Dōgo Park. In 1953, the Ehime Prefectural Dōgo Zoo was established within the park, though it was closed in 1987. Beginning in 1988, systematic archaeological excavations were carried out, and between 1998 and 2001, portions of samurai residences and earthen walls were reconstructed, allowing visitors to glimpse the appearance of the castle in its prime. In 2002, the Yuzuki Castle ruins were officially designated as a National Historic Site, and in 2006, it was selected as entry no. 80 in the Japan’s Top 100 Castles.