Castles in Japan

Castles in Japan

Speaking of castles, one's thoughts generally centre around those of Europe. In spite of the fact the Japan had once had thousands of forts, very few are aware of their existence in the country. In fact, medieval Japan had housed more than 30,000 castles built during the Muromachi Period. Time had reduced many of the buildings to ruins and the rest received their last blow in the Meiji restoration, leaving only around 12 castles unaffected today.

Though built to guard the empire, the castles of Japan are brilliant pieces of architecture. These buildings had evolved to keep pace with the changing needs of their Lords. While those of the Nara period were simple stone and wood structures, the later lords chose their forts as a means of exhibiting their status. The Azuchi castle built in 1579 gave a new lease of life to the architecture. With their intricate designs and strong reinforcement measures, the later buildings were a fruit of modern architectural techniques and time hallowed beliefs. As the buildings stood as a representation of the power and affluence of their lords, even the common people contributed to make their castle as magnificent as possible. The external architectures were sumptuous and the interiors too were beautified with paintings and murals to adorn the walls.

Having farmers and artisans of their own, each castle was a self sufficient microcosm in itself. Not only did they serve as the defense base, the forts grew to be the administrative headquarters of the state. People from all ranks of the society fleeted in, giving the towns an evident class hierarchy. The forts even developed into a hub of business activities to add to the prosperity of the entire empire.

The Japanese castles were equipped to guarantee a flawless protection of those inside. With a skilled army, the defensive means were such that very rarely did any attacker succeed in breaking in. They were built with a structured layout having a 'tenshu', or main tower, and 'maru' or baileys to guard the tenshu.

Depending on their position, the Japanese castles can be classified into three main types. The mountain top castles or 'yamajiro' were the least vulnerable ones and gave a panoramic view of the landscape below to spot an approaching enemy. The flat land mountain or 'hirayamajiro' were placed on a low mountain or a high valley, and the easiest to communicate but the most exposed buildings were the flat land castles or 'hirajiro'.

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