Shouri Castle

Shouri Castle

Shouri Castle (勝利城, Shouri-jō) is a hilltop Japanese Castle complex situated in the city of Shouri in the Kyoto prefecture. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of Japanese castle architecture comprising of an advanced network of 112 rooms with advanced defensive systems and lavish decorations. often called 黄金の城 (Kogane no shiro, Golden Castle) due to it's Lavish golden decorations.
Shouri castle dates back to 1593 when Takeshi Mutō, after recently seeing victory in the Pacific wars, contracted hundreds of architects, builders, and workers to make him the largest and most lavish castle in all of Japan by the coast in northern Kyoto. The site chosen would be in Modern day be on top of Shouri hill. Planning for it started in December 12th 1593, construction started in 1594 March 4th, and the entire thing was completed on 1600 February 10th. For almost 400 years Shouri castle has remained intact. Shouri Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and it was registered in 1996 as a one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country.

Planning

After Takeshi's remarkable victory in the pacific wars large amounts of gold were found in the Philippines. Men who years prior had been in the Kaishū system were sent there to mine it. Ultimately what Takeshi wanted was a grand castle for diplomatic purposes. It's worth noting that throughout the entirety of it, Takeshi never lived in it. Takeshi's idea would be of a tour almost, Shouri was a port town so the riches would inevitable follow. The idea behind his diplomatic strategy would not to force his new colonies to be Japanese, but make them want to be. Local leaders from the Philippines and the Dutch east Indies would find themselves in Shouri, a maze of streets and commerce, they would be picked up by imperial personnel and for several days be shown the sights and wonders of the city only then they would be led to the castle and would come to see a massive fortress set on a hill with gold plated decorations and cannons lining the outer wall. After being let through the gates they would pass through the palace garden, filled with roses and cherry blossom trees, ideally the interaction would take place in April or march so they could see them in full bloom. They would make their way down a linear path and then find themselves through winding corridors, court member and advisors all going about, hallways filled with gold and woodblock prints. Only after a while of walking through splendid hallways and rooms filled with lavish surroundings they would find their way to the throne room. In the room Takeshi would be sitting alone, stiff, and unmoving. The furniture in the room was all of the highest quality, and the walls had gold artwork on them. The leader would then bow as instructed, however as he did this the throne in the short time he had looked down had risen, and Takeshi still stiff, alone, and unmoving seemingly had changed clothes. The man would now not only be impressed, but befuddled by all the splendor. Takeshi would then negotiate with them while taking a tour throughout the entire castle. This would cover first the gardens filled with growing plants, second the courtyard with equally lavish furniture and such, third they would walk by the training grounds for the Samurai, and ideally they would be performing cannon drills, and second to last they would go to a balcony which overlooked the entirety of Shouri with all of it's trade a hustle and bustle. The final spot would be another balcony outlooking to the countryside. The idea would be for instead of having to force natives to be Japanese, make them want to be Japanese by being taken in by all the splendor of the Castle. Takeshi knew that this had a major opportunity to backfire, and instead motivate the leaders to rally against Japan in an attempt to take the riches and he was willing to live with that risk.

Construction

Construction would start directly after the winter was over on March 4th 1594. At least 1000 of architects, artisans, and craftsmen were hired to complete the castle. Alongside them were hundreds of men from the Kaishū system who were assigned to be the unskilled labor that built the castle. The wooden frame was done by October, and construction would have to be halted due to materials having to be transported from all places over the empire. Much of the gold was transported from the Philippines as massive amounts of gold had been found there.
In 1595 February 2nd construction would start back up, and many workers reportedly saw Takeshi himself working on the sight alongside the workers. On April 18th 28 men who were in the Kaishū system attempted to kill Takeshi out of anger, blaming him for their plight. According to legend Takeshi was eating dinner at one of the makeshift tents set up around the construction area when all 28 of them stormed into the tent with shivs and hammers. Instead of fighting back or calling guards he continued eating, none of them wanted to attack Takeshi, as he was unarmed and not fighting back. Tired of waiting one of the men used their shivs and cut deep into his left arm just under his other scar, expecting a reaction they were surprised to see that he took a piece of cloth, covered the scar, and continued eating. No other attempts were made afterwards, and after finishing his meal Takeshi supposedly said "Have you forgiven me?" To which the men responded, "We shall forgive you only when the universe ends." Unfazed Takeshi stands up and replies "May I remind you, I am not the one who put you in your chains, you have done that to yourself, and while you may be released, if you refuse to forgive me and yourself, you shall be a prisoner until the universe ends." After a while all 28 of them dropped their weapons and went back to their work the next day. Takeshi would continue to work alongside the men whenever he was not performing his duties as shogun, and it finally was completed on 1600 February 10th when Takeshi would place the last stone in the fortress wall.

Design Details

Shouri castle is the largest castle in Japan and serves as an excellent example of architecture in Japan at the time. The massive curved walls are said to resemble massive fans in their appearance. The principal building materials are stone, wood, and bamboo. The castle itself is a hirayama type of castle not un similar to Himeji Castle and Tsuyama Castle.
The Shouri castle complex is located just south of Shouri, Kyoto. It is on top of a hill called Shouri hill which is around 42 meters (137 ft) above sea level. The complex comprises of a network of 103 buildings, such as storehouses, gates, corridors, turrets, and armories.
From east to west it is 1,900 meters (6233.596 ft) from north to south it is 1,900 meters as well making a square, from corner to corner it is 2697.01 meters (8848.46 ft). The castle walls form an octagon with 8 pointed bastions, the bastions form a circle and the circumference of the entire complex is nearly 5,969.03 meters (3.71 miles).
The main keep is at the center and stands at 50 meters tall (164.042 ft) and has 5 floors not including the basement. The grand total of 1959 m^2 in area, floor 1 had 555, floor 2 had 552, floor 3 had 450, floor 4 had 250, and floor 5 had 152. The basement had 570 m^2 in area brining the grand total to 2579 m^2. The 5th floor now has iron bars over the windows, however during construction and prior to 1922 they would not have them. All of the floors have small enclosed rooms known as warrior hiding places (武者隠し, mushakakushi).

Defenses

The defenses for Shouri castle were extremely advanced and had many new innovations made by Shigeru Yasuda. The walls were all made of highest quality bricks and were put in by the most experienced masons, instead of filling in the center with daub or wattle it was solid brick, and all of the walls were 3 meters thick. They were then covered with plaster and holes would be drilled out for cannons and loopholes for guns.
A moat would surround the entire castle and had an average width of 20 meters, and a depth of 2 meters. It was unique in the sense that it would almost never be filled with water and instead was filled with Japanese barberry to slow down enemy troops and dissuade unarmored ones. Enemies who were able to get through the heavy barrage of long range artillery would be greeted by a hail of grapeshot from the bastions.
Once inside there where a series of walls where defenders would fall back to, after the last and final wall the rest of the complex would be there. Invaders would then be faced with the hundreds in the complex and new Type 83 gun carts and cannons.

Cultural impact

Shouri castle is called 'Kogane no Shiro' (golden castle) due to its lavish golden walls and decorations. It has been extensively featured in foreign films and TV as well as Japanese media.

Legend and lore

Shouri Castle is host to a great amount of local legends and lore. Most of which have to do with Takeshi Mutō Many also have to do with the basement which has almost never been accessed. The basement is shut off, and has been by order of the emperor since 1647, original schematics do not speak of it much, however later schematics showed that there is a massive undergrounds complex not un similar to a labyrinth, supposedly it stretches much farther than the castle. In 2012 during an earthquake a small portion of the underground section was unveiled around 2 km away from Shouri City confirming it's existence. No further attempts to explore the castle underground have been mounted and it remains unexplored.

Founding Date

1594-1600

Type

Castle

Owner

Takeshi Mutō