Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji
Absolutely Fantastic !!! Mt. Fuji, best viewed in winter, stands in blue sky without any clouds

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

What is a Japanese castle like?


Osaka castle
Picture 1   Donjon of Osaka Castle
WE have many castles or Shiro around the country.  They were originally built in the 16th to 18th centuries by feudal lords. But most of existing castles are replicas which were  built in the 20th century.  A good example is Osaka-jo Castle in Osaka,  which has an enormous donjon(see Picture 1), and are very popular among people.  Japanese castles commonly consist of moats, stone walls, watch towers, a donjon and several buildings such as Honmaru and Ninomaru.

YOU'LL also find similar castles in local cities.  They are generally not so big as that in Osaka, but they have unique ideas in the designs made by local lords.
Here we have a report on a local castle called
Ueda-jo by Ms. J. O.,
who visited the city of Nagano, located about 200 kilometers northwest of Tokyo.
Ueda Castle 1
Picture 2  Yagura-mon of Sanada-jo Castle
The castle was built in 1583, during the Age of Civil Wars, by Sanada  Masayuki, a local lord who was respected with his distinctive strategies.

According to old documents, the lord  Sanada didn’t build  a  donjon. The reason would be that he regarded it as something impractical for wars, nothing but a decorative building in good appearance. 
Instead, he enforced the defensive power of gates and watch towers.
This picture  shows the front view of  Yagura-mon, a gate which is unique in having two Yagura or watch towers at a gate. You see a two-storied bulding on the right which is connected with another two-storied one on the left through a corridor on a stone wall.  The gate was restored in 1994. You can enter both Yagura to see how warriors inside defended the gate against enemies.
(Admission fee is 250 yen, including  the municipal museum on the castle site.)
Ueda Castle 2
Picture 3  "Sanda ishi" stone
Walking around the castle, you'll find a huge stone among many stones that make up stone walls. This is named "Sanada  ishi" stone. 
It's 2.5 meters wide and 3 meters high.
The size of stone is supposed to correspond to the power of war lord, and
Sanada
stone would be a symbol of the clan's strength.

The small local castle became famous as an invincible fort.  It completely succeeded in rejecting overwhelming attacks repeated twice by Tokugawa clan, the largest power at the time that built a huge castle at Edo (present Tokyo).

Unfrotunately, Honmaru, or the main building where the Sanda lord lived, didn’t remain. we can, however, walk around a wide open area where Honmaru used to be, seeing three existing Yagura-mon gates stand at the corners in the south, north and west.


A funny story I've heard is that Sanada shrine there provides Omamori or a charm, and it's popular for students to buy the charm wishing success in exams.
This charm is connected with the historical fact that the castle never fell (or lost).

It might give you an invincible power.

<More information>
Tourists who are interested in Japanese castles would be recommended to visit the cities of Himeji and Kyoto as well as Osaka. Himeji castle is famous for its magnificent architecture covered with white plaster, and Nijo-jo castle in Kyoto is characterized by its gorgeous pictures inside buildings.   
 

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