As you can see in the picture above, we see the castle tower sitting on a magnificent stone wall [ castle . ] You are thinking. However, it is only part of a building called a castle.
The role of a castle varies depending on the time and region.
This time, I would like to write about the history of the origin and evolution of castles in Japan.
Birth and origin of the castle
The origin of the castle dates back to the Yayoi period.
It begins with people thinking about creating villages and protecting cultivated land and crops from others. Surrounding the entire village with a moat [ Moated Settlement ] And a village on a hill, etc. [ Highland village ] Is said to be its origin.
However, until the Yamato Imperial Court was established, there was nothing that could be called a castle-like castle.
Mr. Soga / Mr. Mononobe Inagi with a bunch of rice There is a record that it was built. It is thought that it did not simply pile up rice, but played the role of earthworks by mixing soil and water and compacting it.
The building that was conscious of the function of the castle is Emperor Tenji . Is Battle of Baekgang Yamashiro , where large stones (rocks) were lined up on the mountain ridges and hillsides along the coasts of Kitakyushu and Setouchi to be wary of Japan being attacked. It is said that it started with the construction of.
That said, in Japan there was basically no conflict until the end of the Heian period, and there was no demand for military facilities called castles. In Japan, it was the Ezo in the Tohoku region that was recognized as an enemy. So, the imperial court will move north while establishing a base to subdue Ezo. The base is called castle work, Taga Castle, Akita Castle It existed on the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan side.
These ancient castles will influence later times.
History of castle evolution
As the word "castle" is written as "made of soil", most Japanese castles are made of soil, and less than 10% of the stone walls have a castle tower. In the Warring States period, such a earth castle Kabe to stop the invasion of the enemy in the battle between Sengoku daimyo Played the role of.
Many of these earthen castles are built on mountains, and it is clear that mountains are easier to protect than plains because of the availability of terrain. The moat was the most important thing for a castle whose purpose was to prevent the enemy, and no matter how sturdy the building was, it would be meaningless if the enemy could easily invade the castle.
The solid castle is a moat It depends on how you dig. Most of the moats are about 10m wide, which seems to have been related to the range of the bow and arrow at that time.
You can see that the above castles have undergone various evolutions from time to time.
Let's take a look at the changes in the castle from time to time.
The castle in the Heian and Kamakura periods was close to the mansion
An armed class called a samurai was born from the latter half of the Heian period, but it is said that the castle was not built in earnest until the Kamakura period. When the samurai appeared, they had a strong meaning of being the manager of the villa, and each village was independent on a house-by-house basis.
The samurai built a moat around the hills near the plains.
Although there were some forts, most of the conflicts during the Heian period were the boundaries of the land under management and inheritance conflicts, and there were not many castle attacks and siege battles like during the Warring States period.
When the Kamakura Shogunate was established in the world of samurai, its base was a urban castle shape where natural hills surrounded the flat land facing the coast. Was taken.
In this era, mountain castles to be used in case of an emergency were gradually built, but the scale was small and it was not an important building in terms of force.
Yamashiro was the trend for castles during the Muromachi and Sengoku periods! ??
North and South Dynasties From around that time, full-scale armed clashes between samurai have occurred.
From that background, Yamashiro However, the strategic advantage was recognized, and each lord was Yamashiro . Will be built. Yamashiro, who can dismiss the horde with a small number of soldiers, has broken down the concept that it is the force that decides the victory or defeat of the battle so far. To that end, Yamashiro was built as high and high as possible.
During the Warring States period after the Onin War, the Warring States daimyo who gradually settled the area appeared. Yamashiro, which was a fortress of the canopy, is inconvenient for living and it is difficult to place vassals and commerce and industry nearby, so the lord's castle gradually moved from the mountains to the plains . Has moved.
https://rekisi-daisuki.com/entry/2018-10-24-194359
Azuchi Castle, built by Nobunaga Oda, was built to secure a castle town in Rakuichi and Rakuza so that a huge castle tower can be seen from the castle as a symbol of authority. It is said that around this time, the idea that the castle was a symbol of authority began.
Modern castle under the Oritoyo administration
Nobunaga's Azuchi Castle changed the concept of the castle, and the castle needed a castle tower and a castle town.
Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who took power after that, also has a huge castle tower and castle town in the plains of Osaka, and builds Osaka Castle solidified with Ishigaki. With the change from the warring nations that had been in conflict to the world of Taihei Tenka, power was concentrated on one daimyo, and many small and medium-sized daimyo were integrated into a large-scale castle.
This is a modern castle Is called.
Edo period-castle after the Meiji Restoration
Shogunate's Law of One Castle As a result, the construction of each clan is restricted, and permission from the Shogunate is required not only for new construction but also for renovation and restoration.
Due to this policy, Japanese castle construction technology stopped in the early Edo period.
At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, Western countries that achieved the Industrial Revolution showed active movement toward Asia. The shogunate, which was wary of this, started to build a new castle. Matsumae Castle in Ezo And Fukue Castle at the western end of Kyushu Is that. Both castles are built on the premise of shooting a cannon at the sea it was done.
More cannons needed to be more effective against Western countries that already had iron-armored warships.
Therefore, Goryokaku will be built in Hakodate as a full-fledged bastion fort in Ezo. However, this method was the first attempt in Japan, but it was established in Europe in the 15th century. In short, it was a second decoction and was outdated.
In Europe and the United States, which had already achieved further modernization around this time, there was no longer the idea of protecting interests with castle walls, and fortresses and trenches Was playing a defensive role.
The last fortification in Japan created several daiba to equip cannons that were conscious of the Ryoho style, such as Goryokaku for the defense of Edo.
Goryokaku is still a tourist attraction, with the site of Goryokaku still remaining in Hakodate, Hokkaido.
Summary of the evolutionary history of Japanese castles
- Ancient castles began with castle construction for Ezo uniforms
- The castle of Heian lived by surrounding the samurai mansion with a moat.
- In the Kamakura period, Yamashiro was built.
- After the war of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Yamashiro was considered to be advantageous for the battle and many castles were built.
- In the latter half of the Warring States period, the castle gradually began to move from Yamashiro to the plains.
- The Oritoyo administration requires a castle tower and a castle town.
- In the Edo period, new castle construction was restricted and its evolution was stopped.
- At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the main camp of the sea defense was rebuilt as a Japanese-style modern castle
- The last castle in Japan was Daiba in Edo Bay.