Medieval Japanese Castles - BEGIN Japanology

by Japanology
published on 25 May 2019

A 28 minute documentary about Japanese castles (城 shiro?). These fortresses were constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such as ports, river crossings, or crossroads, and almost always incorporated the landscape into their defenses.