Medieval Japanese Castles

Despite the hundreds of castles built in the Medieval Japanese time period only twelve survive to this very day. The history of Medieval Japanese castles are still evident in today’s society through structures, buildings or documents. After much research on castles in Medieval Japan I came to the question of ‘What was the purpose of constructing castles in the time of Medieval Japan?’

Two castles in particular are testament to this and answer the question. These castles are the Himeji Castle and the Gifu Castle.

The Himeji Castle is located in the center of Himeji City and is a primary source, which is a building. Akamatsu Sadanori was in the position of daimyo and was of Japanese decent when he built Himeji Castle in 1346. It was primarily

The source is incomplete and limited in that it focuses on the castle and its defenses. The source is reliable because it was built during the Medieval Japanese period. Other sources do support it as a map of the castle shows the defense systems of the castle. The source provides a glimpse into the past where people are able to understand the defenses of a Medieval Japanese castle and the effectiveness of them. The castle is an unwitting source, which could be biased, as the castle would have favoured the master who would live in the castle, as he was the one being protected.

The Himeji Castle answers the question in that it was designed to defend against local shoguns through intelligently calculated ways. This includes the fifteen-meter sloping stonewall which blocks the view of the castle when looking at from the base of the walls. Also, the gates were built to a small size so limited men could move through the gate, which was strengthened by wood and stone. The combination of nature and technology creates a physical and psychological blockade designed to baffle and tire the

Other sources do support it like the map from the Edo period, which shows how intimidating the castle, can be because of its size. The castle provides an illustration of the past and particular rooms, which were used for reasons like governing. It is an unwitting source as it was built for reasons like governing, but not for people to see what it was like in the past. These castles in particular were designed for governance and showing wealth. In saying this, the castle would have been biased towards the master of the castle as it was meant to display the dominance of the master.

In Medieval Japan, castles had two aspects to their purpose and one was for displaying the wealth of the master, which is supported by the Gifu Castle. The Gifu Castle answers the question in that it was constructed to impress and intimidate rivals not only with their defences, but also with their size and elegant interiors, architecture and decorations. It also became a place of