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TAK'S
GUIDE TO JAPANESE CASTLES |
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Above
is the Chinese character ('Kanji')
for the word 'castle'. In In
general, it is pronounced 'SIRO'
when used alone, and is pronounced 'JO'
in conjunction with castle name (i.e. Edo-jo
means Many Kanji are composed from several
simpler characters. 'SIRO'
is no exception. 'SIRO' can be broken down into two
characters:
The
character on the left is 'TSUCHI'
or 'DO', which generally
means 'earth' or 'dirt'. The
character on the right is 'SEI'
or 'NA-ru',
which generally means 'formed' or 'created'. 'SIRO' originally meant any state
of fortification, formed from a common building material during the ancient
period when the character was first created; namely earth.
Indeed, majority of castles constructed in
Castles constructed partially from stone, i.e. for more permanent
purposes, were not seen in Late
16th century to early 17th century was the technological peak for castles and
other Japanese military architecture. Major Japanese castles remaining today
were built during this period. * * * This
site shows major castles of There
are many major castles that I have not visited, and there are countless
numbers of minor castles that I have visited yet chose to omit. * * * Well, to make a long story short, just
click and enjoy the scenery. |
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