Born in 1549, Matsura Shigenobu headed the Matsura clan and ruled Hirado in Hizen Province, building his power base in a port that flourished as a gateway for trade with Portugal and other European nations. He led naval forces in the Korean campaigns of the 1590s. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he became the first lord of Hirado domain under Tokugawa Ieyasu, and in 1599 began construction of a new castle on the hill of Hi-no-take at the northern tip of Hirado Island. However, soon after its completion, he is said to have demolished the castle himself around 1607 out of deference to the shogunate, leaving Hirado without a castle for many years afterward. Taking the Buddhist name Hoin, he retained real power even after taking religious vows, and died in 1614. The keep and turrets seen at Hirado Castle today were rebuilt roughly a century later under the fifth domain lord, Matsura Takashi.

A daimyo with an international outlook, ruling a Hirado that flourished through trade with Europe, yet also displaying cautious political judgment under the Tokugawa regime -- as shown by his willingness to demolish the very castle he had built out of deference to the shogunate.

Hirado Castle, whose foundations Shigenobu laid, is selected as one of Japan's 100 Famous Castles, conveying the history of Hirado as an international trading city that flourished through commerce with Europe.