Japanese Castles
The daimyo governed their domains from castles designed primarily for military defense. The castles were typically situated on high ground in strategic locations such as ports and crossroads, and they often incorporated elements of the landscape in their defensive plans. They were constructed mainly of wood, although they involved more stone construction than did other Japanese buildings.
In addition to their military function, castles served as daimyos’ residences and their centers of governance. Such castles were designed to withstand lengthy sieges. Fortifications were often made up of maze-like stone walls and numerous gates to deter invaders, with strong, tall central towers as well as garrisons. Dry food was stocked in large basement storerooms. Sprawling complexes set between buildings and fortified walls included fields, vegetable gardens, and orchards. Most castles contained a large number of wells, ensuring a supply of fresh water.
Kumamoto Castle, depicted in paintings in this exhibition, was the military base of the Hosokawa clan’s Higo domain from 1632 until 1868; many of the objects displayed in this exhibition are associated with this castle. Because of the domain’s location—on the western side of Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island—the Hosokawa acquired fleets of ships to travel to Edo by way of Osaka. Hosokawa ships are also depicted in paintings in this exhibition.
The Kumamoto Castle complex, most of which was constructed shortly after 1600, is an astonishing defensive structure, huge in scale and labyrinthine in layout. Two large towers—one six stories high— dominate the center. The entire complex was surrounded by moats and mazes of stone walls topped with tiled parapets.
