Purpose Of The Japanese Castle
Between the 12th- 16th centuries there was constant internal wars in Japan with daimyos fighting against each other in a feudal system, such as in Europe. (The Castle as Labyrinth- 5) However, when these territorial warlords fought each other, they made castles in the regions they ruled for protection. However, when the warlords made these castles during periods like the Tokuwaga, they thought they were going to be temporary until the Sengoku period when the realized there was constant warfare. (The Castle as Labyrinth- 5) So instead of creating castles that were weak with no walls and in a unfavorable location, they reconsidered and built sturdy castles in strategically thought-out locations. Once fighting decreased and settled down, these castles showed their beauty more often with magnificent architecture, beautiful gardens, and elaborate paintings and vases inside the castle. The daimyo and his close companions all lived in the castle since he wanted to impress all visitors coming in. (The Castle as Labyrinth- 5) These medieval castles main purposes were meant for defense and beauty. A general idea of the castle's defensive layout is made of three layers:
First Layer- System made of moats, outer walls, and watch towers
Second Layer- A labyrinth of passageways to confuse attackers and kill them from hiding spots
Third Layer- System made of chutes and holes to fire weapons in the walls and drop objects
(The Castle as Labyrinth- 5)
First Layer- System made of moats, outer walls, and watch towers
Second Layer- A labyrinth of passageways to confuse attackers and kill them from hiding spots
Third Layer- System made of chutes and holes to fire weapons in the walls and drop objects
(The Castle as Labyrinth- 5)
People Inside The Walls
Inside the walls of these castle complexes were, of course, the daimyo and other high leaders, but their were also other social classes living within the complex. For example, Samurai lived almost exclusively in the compound. The higher ranked you were of a samurai, the closer you lived to the daimyo's elaborate keep. (Japanese Castle Architecture- 4) In some large castles they even divided the rankings of samurai by making a secondary inner moat in the middle of the two, where lower ranking samurai were further from the daimyo's keep. The people of the lower ranking class, such as commoners were only within the walls if they had a purpose of serving the daimyo. (Japanese Castle Architecture- 4) The commoners that lived there were in designated areas for the purposes they served for the daimyo, so it was an efficient way on working their occupations.
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