Japanese Castles 1540-1640 by Stephen Turnbull

Author:Stephen Turnbull
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Japanese Castles 1540–1640
ISBN: 9781780962160
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2011-11-14T05:00:00+00:00

The principles of defence

Whatever their aesthetic appeal, Japanese castles were primarily fortresses, and the Japanese castle represented a sophisticated defence system, even if the way this operated is not always directly apparent. At first sight the graceful superstructures look flimsy and very vulnerable to fire, but they were in fact highly fire resistant, and the Japanese also lacked the means for effective artillery bombardment until quite late in their history.

One obvious disadvantage provided by the gently sloping and curved walls of the typical castle stone base was the ease with which attackers could climb them, and the way in which the unmortared blocks of stone fitted together also provided numerous handholds. One solution was the incorporation into the design of towers of the stone-dropping holes noted above which were akin to European machicolations. Unlike machicolations, however, the ishi otoshi were closed by hinged doors. An additional deterrent to would-be climbers were rows of spikes pointing downwards from certain horizontal surfaces such as is seen on the keep at Kumamoto castle and the small walls at Nagoya.

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