{"id":673,"date":"2010-08-13T02:13:31","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T02:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=673"},"modified":"2014-07-30T18:07:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-30T18:07:01","slug":"top-five-japanese-castles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/top-five-japanese-castles\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Five Japanese Castles"},"content":{"rendered":"

If I could give a description of Japan, one of the things I would say is, \u201cJapan is the land of castles\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One such example is Himeji j\u014d (\u59eb\u8def\u57ce<\/strong>,) or Himeji Castle. The castle is located in Hy\u014dgo Prefecture (\u5175\u5eab\u770c<\/strong>,) and is one of the largest castles in Japan. At the center of the castle complex is a moat surrounded by water. The castle is six floors high, if you include the basement.<\/p>\n

Hikone j\u014d (\u5f66\u6839\u57ce<\/strong>,) or Hikone Castle is located in Shiga Prefecture (\u6ecb\u8cc0\u770c<\/strong>,) and is one of the best preserved castles. The castle has retained much of its original structure, with very little retouching. The castle was originally scheduled to be demolished, but a personal request from an emperor has allowed us to view the castle today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inuyama j\u014d (\u72ac\u5c71\u57ce<\/strong>) or Inuyama Castle is located in Aichi Prefecture (\u611b\u77e5\u770c<\/strong>) is claimed to be one of the oldest surviving castles in Japan. It was built in 1440, but more structures were added to the castle well into the 1600s. The castle was first occupied by the extended family of Oda Nobunaga (\u7e54\u7530<\/strong>\u4fe1\u9577<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Matsumoto j\u014d (\u677e\u672c\u57ce<\/strong>,) or Matsumoto Castle is located in Nagano Prefecture (\u9577\u91ce\u770c<\/strong>) and is sometimes called the karasu jo (\u70cf\u57ce<\/strong>) or the \u201ccrow castle\u201d. The nickname comes from the fact that the castle\u2019s exterior is black. This castle is unique because it wasn\u2019t built atop a hill or mountain side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kumamoto j\u014d (\u718a\u672c\u57ce<\/strong>) or Kumamoto Castle, is located in Kumamoto Prefecture (\u718a\u672c\u770c<\/strong>,). It is a heavily fortified castle with steep stone walls called musha gaeshi (\u6b66\u8005\u8fd4\u3057<\/strong>). Musha gaeshi literally means \u201crepelling warriors\u201d and was so called because the angle of the walls made it difficult to attack the castle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

If I could give a description of Japan, one of the things I would say is, \u201cJapan is the land of castles\u201d.   One such example is Himeji j\u014d (\u59eb\u8def\u57ce,) or Himeji Castle. The castle is located in Hy\u014dgo Prefecture (\u5175\u5eab\u770c,) and is one of the largest castles in Japan. At the center of the…<\/p>\n

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