Posts tagged with "japanese castles"

Top Five Japanese Castles

Posted by Ginny No Comments
Aug 13 2010

If I could give a description of Japan, one of the things I would say is, “Japan is the land of castles”.

One such example is Himeji jō (姫路城,) or Himeji Castle. The castle is located in Hyōgo Prefecture (兵庫県,) and is one of the largest castles in Japan. At the center of the castle complex is a moat surrounded by water. The castle is six floors high, if you include the basement.

Hikone jō (彦根城,) or Hikone Castle is located in Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県,) and is one of the best preserved castles. The castle has retained much of its original structure, with very little retouching. The castle was originally scheduled to be demolished, but a personal request from an emperor has allowed us to view the castle today.

Inuyama jō (犬山城) or Inuyama Castle is located in Aichi Prefecture (愛知県) is claimed to be one of the oldest surviving castles in Japan. It was built in 1440, but more structures were added to the castle well into the 1600s. The castle was first occupied by the extended family of Oda Nobunaga (織田 信長).

Matsumoto jō (松本城,) or Matsumoto Castle is located in Nagano Prefecture (長野県) and is sometimes called the karasu jo (烏城) or the “crow castle”. The nickname comes from the fact that the castle’s exterior is black. This castle is unique because it wasn’t built atop a hill or mountain side.

Kumamoto jō (熊本城) or Kumamoto Castle, is located in Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県,). It is a heavily fortified castle with steep stone walls called musha gaeshi (武者返し). Musha gaeshi literally means “repelling warriors” and was so called because the angle of the walls made it difficult to attack the castle.

Japanese Castles

Posted by Ginny 1 Comment
Mar 30 2009

Like the medieval castles of Europe, the castles of Japan were meant to be a fortress against attacks.  The general term for castle is shiro (城), but when the word for castle is a proper noun, the word castle is pronounced as joo (城) is attached.  For example Chihaya castle would be pronounced as chihayajoo (千早城) not chihayashiro (千早城).  Some of the castles reflect a military sensibility rather than a mansion built for royalty.  Some of the most famous castles in Japan are located in harsh terrain.  Castles located in the mountains were called yamashiro (山城).  Castles surrounded by water were called mizuki (水城), while those hidden by low elevation are called hirayamashiro (平山城).

Some of the many impressive castles contained the yagura (櫓), which were towers used to view the enemy from below.  There were tiny slits called yasama (やさま), where arrows could pass through, and even bigger holes for taihosama (たいほさま), where cannons could be shot through the air. 

If the daimyoo (大名) was especially rich and powerful, he had smaller castles called shijoo (しじょお), in which lower ranking samurai (さむらい) lived.  The daimyoo (大名) or lord lived in the honjoo (ほんじょお) or the main castle.  That way, if the daimyoo (大名) was attacked, he had the convenient disposal of warriors ready at all times.  Some of the castles that remain today stretch for many miles on end, and from a bird’s eye view you can see the main castle surrounded and protected by the smaller castles.

Although many castles are being restored and preserved for future generations, there are many castles are only survive in bits and pieces of stone.  Many of the castles were destroyed in WWII and only the stone bases remain.  Despite that, archaeologists have been able to see and learn what specific castles looked like by the records left by the previous residents of the castle.  Luckily today, the castles are used as museums and for sight-seeing, not for military purposes.

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