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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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