Japanese Castle vs. European Castle
Japanese castle's compared with European castle's, they were built differently, run by different people and worked well in different ways. These castle's protected and homed different people some highly important some not, lets' have a look a who's castle lives up to be the best.
SOME JAPANESE CASTLE FEATURES > Large stone walls surrounded the castle and stood as collosal barriers. Enemies were challenged to risk their lives. > Steep inner paths would lead invaders to highly defended narrow gateways and tunnels. > The tenshukaku, keep or donjon, was the living quarters of the daimyo and was the most heavily guarded, and important structure of the castle. It was two-five storeys high and found within the castles’ walls, although there were usually more floors inside than shown on the outside. > A complex maze of moats and walls within the castle acted as the major defence measures. The connecting buildings that flanked these moats would be filled with archers during an attack. Exposed spaces inside the outer walls and moat, were intended to once again challenge the enemies to go further and risk their lives. > The yagura also known as guard towers and turrets, were storerooms and watch towers usually found at the corners alongside the castle walls. Made up of only two floors they are smaller in size than the main tower, however castles usually had several of them. > The goten or palace was the lord’s home and workplace. > All of the many gates castles had were well defended structures. Most castles had two gates placed at a 90 degree angle to each other, producing a small inner yard, highly defended from all sides. SOME EUROPEAN CASTLE FEATURES > The keep was one of the biggest structures found within the think protective outer walls of the castle. It was a storage area, which had a large square tower on top. The tower had slotted windows used by archers in battle. The keep stored food, wine, and grain in case of a siege. > The drawbridge was a bridge branching across the moat, it could be lowered and raised for protection from intruders. > The barracks were the homes of knights and their families. They were other buildings found inside the castle walls. > The great hall was a passageway that connected the keep to the lord’s home. > The gatehouse was a building used by the guards at the gate. The grating of iron bars at the gateway was known as the portcullis. > The chapel was either constructed inside the lord’s home or as a individual building. It held all religious services. > A moat was constructed around most castles. The deep ditch bordering the castle walls, was filled with water and had a bridge built across it. The bridge was raised during attacks and the moat was filled with traps and sharp spikes in case someone attempted to swim across. > Some castles would also have a barbican, a narrow closed off corridor that stuck out from the gatehouse, to reach the gatehouse you would have to go through it. The corridor would be riddled with traps like arrow-slits and holes for boiling-oil. |
HOW JAPANESE CASTLES ARE SIMILAR TO EUROPEAN CASTLES
~ Both used large and tall outer walls for protection
~ They both had portholes for arrows and guns
~ They had steep narrow staircases to make attacks hard
~ There were moats surrounding them to prevent the digging of tunnels
~ They usually had a main gate area that could be used as a trap
~ They just about always had concentric rings of walls to give them multiple layers of protection
~ They capitalized on terrain features. Often the best placement was at the top of a hill or small mountain. This gave a very advantageous position and view
~ Both used large and tall outer walls for protection
~ They both had portholes for arrows and guns
~ They had steep narrow staircases to make attacks hard
~ There were moats surrounding them to prevent the digging of tunnels
~ They usually had a main gate area that could be used as a trap
~ They just about always had concentric rings of walls to give them multiple layers of protection
~ They capitalized on terrain features. Often the best placement was at the top of a hill or small mountain. This gave a very advantageous position and view