, also known as , was a Japanese castle in Mutsu Province

Mutsu Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

. Located in modern-day Izumi-ku

Izumi-ku

The word "Izumi-ku" may refer to:*Izumi-ku, Yokohama is one of the wards of Yokohama City, Japan*Izumi-ku, Sendai is one of the wards of Sendai City, Japan...

, Miyagi Prefecture

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

, the castle belonged to the Kokubu clan, which ruled the area before the entry of the Date clan. Matsumoridate was also known as Flying Crane Castle (Tsuru-ga-jō 鶴ヶ城), because of its similarity in appearance to the spread wings of a flying crane. The last lord of the castle was Kokubu Morishige

Kokubu Morishige

was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through early Edo period. Morishige, also known by his court title Noto no Kami 能登守, was the uncle of Date Masamune. He was also the last lord of Matsumori Castle.-External links:*...

. After the entry of the Date clan, the castle was largely dismantled and became the traditional grounds for the Date clan's new year's falconry

Falconry

Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...

trips.