P7+Castle+Towns

Castle Towns: Beyond the Walls in time of piece Zoe Shaan  Castles were used for many things. These things were: military negotiations, Shogun trained samurai in the castles and they were centers of government administration. Castles were important to everyone in the town, including artisans and merchants. This is because samurais, shoguns and daimyos brought many goods from the artisans and merchants. To find out more of castle towns keep reading. Castles play a major part of an Emperor’s and Daimyo’s life. For instance an Emperor celebrates major celebrations in a castle, and practices the Shinto religion in their gardens which include meditation and the painting of nature. Daimyos also play a major role in a castle. They train samurai, and they also take part in many battles in a castle. Daimyos are a high ranking samurai lords who serve the emperor who provides shoguns with warriors in exchange for land. Castles are not always peaceful and calm. There could always be a chance that an enemy could attack. So for that, the Japanese have very tight protection. When you walk into a castle, you see that there are many little holes in the wall. You may think that a rodent nibbled through it, but actually, there are clearings behind each hole big enough for a guard to fit in at night so that if someone tries to sneak in, they can seize them and attack. The floorboards also aren’t as steady as you think. When a castle is built, the floorboards are made a little bit unscrewed so that if you walk on them, they make a squeaky noise and a guard will come and catch you. Castles take a long time to build because of the architecture. Since there were so many attacks when they had castles the castle had an illusion. When you walked up a two story building you would think that you are at the castle but you look and actually you are not at the castle but at a tower. The castle actually has seven floors. To protect the castle from an earthquake or an attack the castle base is made of bamboo, wood and clay. To confuse their attackers a castle could have walls and gates to prevent their attackers from getting in. Gardens and pools were placed outside the castle to also confuse the attackers and trap attackers. In a typical Japanese castle garden there are usually rocks, pools, and Japanese symbols. A garden in a castle has rakers who plow through the garden which makes all of the rocks straight. Some of the rocks had Japanese symbols carved into it. Most Japanese gardens have Shinto Torii Gates which resembles the passing into the afterlife. Some Tori do not even allow people to go on the other side. But there is more to a castle than just business and war. There is also the peaceful religion of the Shinto. Shinto is the religion filled with Kami, Torii, and Amaterasu. Kami is a god that inhabits one specific object like a tree. But keep in mind that Kami do not inhabit all the trees in the world, they just live in one specific tree. Amaterasu is the most important Kami of them all. Amaterasu is the most important because she is the sun goddess and it is believed that all emperors descended from her. It is also believed that the emperor is the head of the Shinto religion. As you could see in the previous paragraphs, castle towns are very essential to everyone in the town. This is because they are very well-rounded in everything. For example they have ceremonies, gardens, and religious Shinto objects. Now you know everything about ca 

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Williams, Brian. **Forts & Castles.** Penguin Books. New York: New York. 1994.Print.

BBC News." Zen Gardens Secrets Revealed". //Bbc.co.uk.// BBC News, September 2002. Web. September 2002.