Support from Local Residents

Matsumoto Castle survived the Meiji era largely because of two local residents who acted at critical moments. In 1872, when a newspaper reported the castle had been sold and would be demolished, activist Ichikawa Ryozo petitioned the governor and proposed using the grounds for public exhibitions. Five exhibitions between 1873 and 1876 drew thousands of visitors daily and built support for the castle's preservation. Decades later, the castle had begun to lean because its wooden foundation posts were rotting under the weight of the 1,000-ton structure. Kobayashi Unari, then principal of the school on the second bailey, founded a preservation society, launched a fundraising campaign, and completed repairs in 1913, one year before his death.