Matsumoto Castle gate

The Matsumoto castle is one of the 12 surviving Japanese castles, with the main tower (tenshu) and several turrets (yagura) still looking as when they were first erected, before 1600.

Several other walls and gates were recently rebuilt, and two of the reconstructed gates are visible in this photo: in the forefront you can see the Ninomon gate, and in the background is the roof of the Kuromon gate. The Kuromon gate has the original roof tiles, decorated with various family crests.