sama 狭間

Also read hasama. A loophole or porthole made in the wall of the keep, tower, or parapet to allow a castle to defend itself with arrows *yazama 矢狭間, spears and hand-held firearms *teppō sama 鉄砲狭間 and large cannon ōzutsu zama 大筒狭間. The openings were circular, triangular, rectangular, square, pentagonal or hexagonal, with the dimensions of the outside opening often smaller than the interior opening in order to protect the defenders. Many loopholes were hourglass-shaped *uchisoto hachimonji 内外八文字, narrow in the center with wide openings at either side. This gave the widest possible shooting range and flexibility from the inside, and the minimum exposure to the enemy. Arrow loopholes yazama, constructed as a narrow vertical rectangle, were classified into seated or standing loopholes, *isama 居狭間 and *tachisama 立狭間 respectively. They were also classified by location: loopholes beneath one's feet ashishita sama 足下狭間 or side loopholes *yokosama 横狭間. Loopholes made in earthen walls or earthen embankments were called tsuchisama 土狭間 and those in a stone wall *ishisama 石狭間. Sometimes they were constructed with special hidden openings, kakushisama 隠狭間, that couldn't be spotted from the outside. Edo military scholars had specific rules, called *samakubari 狭間配, not only for placement but also for the distribution of loopholes in the castle walls.