----------------------------------- sanji Sun May 13, 2007 1:43 pm [E] Japanese Castles ----------------------------------- Castles are typical landmarks in Japan. From the earliest centuries, when castles were made of wood and stones, only a couple of ruins remain. It is in the 16th century that the most beautiful japanese castles were built, and some of them can still be visited today. It is believed that up to 5000 castles existed in feudal Japan. Nowadays, about 50 remain in good condition, and many of them dating from the early Edo period (1603-1867) are worth the visit. Keep in mind that some of the castles were completely rebuilt the last 50 years, including those of Osaka and Hiroshima. While those ones still retain their original architecture, they are only modern constructions and therefore often lack the feelings visitors can get from real, historical buildings... I don't have the knowledge to write a historical guide on Japanese castles. Very unfortunately, as this is a truly fascinating subject... Before visiting a castle, you should take some time to read some historical background on the construction and use of castles. I would strongly suggest those two references : - [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_castle]Wikipedia - Japanese Castle - [url=http://www.jcastle.info]Guide to Japanese Castles The second link is a comprehensive site listing almost 100 castles, and allowing searching them by type, condition (original, reconstructed, ruins) and location. Plus, and this is the true originality of this site, castles are rated from 5 stars to 1 star. This ensures that visitors will be able to find the most interesting castles in the area they intend to visit... In this topic, we will use this scale (thanks to Eric, the webmaster, for allowing that). On the [url=http://www.jcastle.info]Guide to Japanese Castles web sites, castles are rated from 5 to 1, a scale that allow visitors to pick-up the best castles in the area they are visiting. This is a very useful tool, and we use it here, too.