Bitchū Matsuyama Castle

Bitchū Matsuyama Castle (備中松山城, Bitchū Matsuyama-jō), also known as Takahashi Castle (高梁城), is a Japanese castle located in the city of Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture, in the San'yō region of Japan. Along with having one of only twelve remaining original tenshu (main keeps) in the country, Bitchū Matsuyama Castle is notable as the castle with the highest elevation above sea level in Japan at 430 meters (1410 ft). It has been protected by the central government as a National Historic Site since 1956. == History == A fortification was originally built on a nearby mountain (Mount Omatsu) in 1240 AD by Akiba Shigenobu, but its details are not clear. In the Muromachi period, the Hosokawa clan was shugo of Bitchū Province, but ruled through local proxies. Takahashi Muneyasu constructed a new castle at the current location on Mount Gagyū in 1331, though the design of this castle differed from the one that stands on the site now. Mount Gagyū is located north of the center of modern Takahashi, and is a long ridge with an elevation of approximately 430 meters, overlooking the Takahashi River. The location is of strategic importance in controlling the north-south transportation route between the Seto Inland Sea and the San'in region on the Sea of Japan, and the east-west transportation route between Tsuyama in Mimasaka Province and Miyoshi in the center of the Chūgoku region. In the early Sengoku period, the Shō clan supplanted the Hosokawa and occupied Bitchū Matsuyama Castle in 1532, making it their stronghold in their campaign against the Amago clan in Izumo Province. By the mid-century, the Mōri clan from Aki Province had defeated the Amago while simultaneously supporting the Mimura clan against the Shō and the Ukita clans.