P1+Castle+Towns

Ashley F. and Sarah G.

Introduction The castle towns are very important to the Tokuawa time period; it was a very interesting time period. In this essay you will learn that it’s not all about Samurai and their armor, there’s more than that! You will learn about castle towns, like what it’s made on, how the government is, what kind of weapons and materials were in the castles, and how the jobs work and what they were.

Warlord's castle

In the warlord’s castle there were big walls at the castle with people looking over it at newcomers. There were also pools and beautiful gardens inside the castle. The roofs were tiled so beautifully and the base of the castle was made out of Granite stones. The castle overhangs so that soldiers can drop rocks on enemies; the timber walls were plastered-covered. The castle had seven floors. The tiled roofs had carved dolphins and other creatures on it. Castle structure and town

Castle towns and structures were uniquely built, for example, if there was an earthquake, it would bounce and absorb the vibrations instead of collapsing. The people had to walk a long way to get to the main castle. Towns grew around the castle, which merchants and artisans lived. Along the roads between Edo and the Castle Towns, were inns, stables, and stores. The castles were designed for protection and from invasion. The towns outside of the castles protected the castle from invaders. Government Tokugawa Ieyasu was the Shogun. He used military forces and negotiations to unify all provinces under his control. This time was called unity and growth. In this time they established shogunate, the capital city of Edo in modern day Tokyo. Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi started to pull all of the provinces together after the 15th century. They had a strict social class which went Samurai, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants. Japan was isolated from the rest of the world for over 200 years. The Samurai enforced laws under the guidance of the Daimyo, now the chief government official. People who were in charge of the government lived in the castle.

Castle Town’s citizens Artisans made goods for castle Samurai. Artisans could also be: Swordsmiths, armorsmiths, sawyers, and roofers. Merchants were the lowest class in Castle towns and also the wealthiest members of castle towns. They could not be Samurai and weren't allowed in some places. Samurai families that were close to the Emperor got bigger lands of rice. Bushido was the strict code of honor and total loyalty of the Samurai. It was more important than the fame of being a Samurai or money. Samurai were also prepared to die for his Master. They helped the Daimyo collect rice payments. They also made sure that the rules of Japan were carried through by the people. The Shogun had his own castle and so did the Daimyo.

Castle History In the 15th century, Japan contained 12 different states. They were fighting each other, and for protection they were building castles on mountains. Then, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi pulled Japan together. Japan started to build other castles on hills and small plains. Castles were used for military headquarters and the leaders of Japan met there. In the Meiji Period, many castles were destroyed by invaders, and many more castles were destroyed in World War 2. Only about 12 castles remain standing in Japan today, which were built before 1868. Japan keeps on building castles in today's time.

Conclusion Castle towns are significant to Samurai culture, because the castle towns served as protection. The castle had a tower that can overlook the town and see the invaders coming. If the castle towns weren’t there, the Samurai culture would be completely different. The Samurai wouldn’t be as important as before. The place where the castle town was could be easily invaded. The Daimyo and Samurai would not be able to collect the rice payments; therefore the town would be in debt. If the town was in debt, they could not pay Samurai for their duty.

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Dunn, Charles James. Everyday life in Traditional Japan [by] C.J. Dunn. Drawings by Laurence Broderick. Boston: C E Tuttle Co, 2000.
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Castles. Japan Castles. Japan-guide.com,1996- 2010. Web. February 17, 2010

"History of Castles." Japnese castles. Google, Web. 19 Feb 2010. **[|**http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2296.html**] **.**


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