What are the defense features of Japanese castles?
What are the defense features of Japanese castles? Japanese castles developed a series of defensive features over the centuries, including inventive variations on moats, earthen embankments, and stone walls. Nawabari, literally meaning “stretched rope,” is a term for the layout of a Japanese castle.
What was the main defense of a castle against attacks?
Outer curtain walls Those valiant enough to make it across the moat were faced with the highly forbidding outer curtain wall. Surrounding the courtyards of castles, outer curtain walls were often built to imposing heights of over 30 feet and were thick enough to withstand attacks from battering rams.
Why are Japanese castle walls curved?
By making the earthwork walls around the kuruwa curved rather than straight, it became possible to attack the advancing enemy from the sides as well as the front. Side attacks were also common on soldiers entering through the koguchi or castle entrance.
What is the main keep of a Japanese castle?
The castle keep, usually three to five stories tall, is known as the tenshukaku(???) or tenshu(??), and may be linked to a number of smaller buildings of two or three stories. Some castles, notably Azuchi, had keeps of as many as seven stories.
What was the weakest part of a castle and how did they protect it?
The weakest part of the castle's defenses was the entrance. To secure access to the castle, drawbridges, ditches and moats provided physical barriers to entry.