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 The
word castle conjures up images of Europe, but it was the
Japanese who adapted it to the changing times and blended
strength with beauty and grace. Castles are also attributed to
William the Conqueror whose invasion of England in 1066
triggered the stupendous erection of these structures. Six
hundred years later, they began losing their value as a
defense structure with the advent of potent gunpowder and
artillery.
In
Japan, the castle assumed its original form during the Nara
Period of 545-794 AD. Then these structures made their
transition from wood and stone fortifications to those having
forts and moats as feudal warlords became increasingly
belligerent. This was the underlying logic behind castle
building – adapting to the requirements of the warlords and
the changing times. The castle was primarily built for defense
purposes. When under attack, the warlords and their men
retreated into the towers, which also doubled as granaries and
armories. The towers began to epitomize power and wealth –
the bigger the tower, the mightier and wealthier the warlord.
Soon enough, the castle became synonymous with both.
At
one time, there were an awesome 30,000 to 40,000 castles in
Japan built between 1333 and 1572. Hundreds of the mountaintop
castles were constructed in the Sengoku Period, also known as
the Warring States Period which witnessed the bloody civil
wars. Though the castles were small, they had huge watch
towers. Then the castles came to the plains. The Azuchi Castle
was built in 1579 by Oda Nobunaga who later embarked upon the
unification of larger sections of Japan. This process
automatically rendered a majority of the medieval structures
irrelevant which soon fell into disuse.
Azuchi
changed the tenets of castle building in the country and
reoriented the definition to have the structure demonstrate
not just protection but also the builder’s status. The
presence of a vantage point determined if the area was worthy
of castle building. With this, the structures became more
complex. The very planning became a detailed and
time-consuming process. They had to be
protective, at the same time artistic and grand to demonstrate
the owner’s power and social standing. These aspects were
enhanced by the growing influence of the Samurai clans. The
Japanese were exposed to firearms in the mid-1500s and this
further changed the castle from being a secure structure to
one having military advantages.
Gradually,
the castle began to encompass every aspect of daily life.
Apart from its military significance, the castles became nerve
centers of governments and army headquarters. These also
accommodated typical palace politics of alliances and
one-upmanship. The castles had huge grounds that evolved into
entire townships, bringing in different people in areas of
trade, crafts, agriculture and fine arts. The emergence of the
castle township directly determined the prosperity of the
area.
Peace
became palpable during the Edo Period, 1603-1867 AD and
Tokugawa Ieyasu unified all of Japan under one government. He
built the Edo castle in Tokyo whose fortress was made of
cedar. The roofs were made with copper to prevent fires that
could be set off by the enemies’ flaming arrowheads. Soon
after, the “Ikkoku Ichijoo” law was enacted that made it
mandatory for every province to have just one castle. After
this, several castles were razed. The 250-year reign of peace
began the decline of the castles’ importance – first from
a military standpoint and later, the social standpoint.
In
1873, the Meiji government passed the Castle Abolishment Law
to mark the end of all those structures that served as a
reminder of the feudal period. Within two years, at least 100
of the 170 Edo Period castles were destroyed. The ripped-up
parts of the grand castles were sold as firewood and the
stones used for dam and railway constructions. The rest were
lost to earthquakes and fires. Whatever was left collapsed to
World War II bombings. Today, a dozen of the original castles
with their characteristic huge towers remain, though much of
the adjoining lands and sprawling gardens have been lost with
time.
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