A fort located at a strategic location on a sea coast, riverbank, or island. It was furnished with large guns. Daiba were…

Also written 大陰虎口. A simple, early form of castle entrance *koguchi …

Lit. large *tenshu 天守. The principal tower. The largest tenshu in a…

A wall projecting 15-30 cm outward from the flat top, *inubashiri 犬走り, of a…

A compound that juts out or is slightly separated from the main components of a castle complex, which include: the main…

1　Outer citadel. Also tsukejiro 付け城, hajiro 端城, edajiro 枝城. A type of branch…

A loophole, *sama 狭間, that projects out from the frame of a window opening in…

1　Lit. earthen bridge. An earthen bridge, which is made by leaving an unexcavated section of moat in front…

Also dorui 土塁. An earthen embankment, earthwork, or rampart. A defensive embankment surrounding a castle or a…

The foundation bed, shiki 敷, of an earthen embankment, *doi 土居. It has…

Lit. independent donjon or keep. Also called dokuritsushiki tenshu 独立式天守, dokuritsu tenshukaku 独立天守閣. A…

1　The flat top of an embankment, *doi 土居, also called *…

A loophole *sama 狭間 cut in a wall about chest high to a standing soldier.…

Lit. "confronting castle." Also termed mukaijiro 向城 (facing castle) and *tsukejiro…

Also termed tamon-zukuri 多聞造, tamon'yagura 多聞櫓 (many listen tower) and tamon nagaya 多聞長屋 (many…

A pounded earth embankment. It was made of layers of earth mixed with water, pounded down and allowed to harden. The wall…

Also read tachi. A small castle shiro 城 and/or a wealthy provincial residence *…

A vertical dry moat. Also read tatsubori; sometimes written 立堀, 竪濠. A dry moat *…

Lit. "ladder-shaped compound plan." Short for teikakushiki nawabari 梯郭式縄張. A plan that fortified a castle entrance…

Lit. "tower central pillar." A pillar found in the main structure of castles, sometimes used singly and sometimes in pairs.…

Also called tenshukaku 天守閣, tenshuyagura 天守櫓. Also written 天主, 殿主, and 殿守. The principal tower-like…

The independent raised foundation upon which the principal tower *tenshu 天守 was constructed.…

Also called jūgan 銃眼 (loophole). A gun loophole or gun port. An opening through which to shoot a firearm from…

Also termed nawadarumi 縄だるみ (slackened rope). A concave shaped stone wall with a curved surface that resembles a…

Also read sotojiro. An outer castle or fortification.

1　A separately enclosed fortification…

Also written 取出, 取手, 塞 also 寨. A small-scale fort, fortification, or stronghold. A structure built near the main castle or…

Also written 壷狭間. Large bamboo stalks that are cut in section, painted and placed in outer castle walls and in the walls of…

An intersection barrier. A single barrier that is constructed to defend two entrances to a castle that have been constructed…

1　A fortification built as a staging camp from which to attack an enemy's castle…

A moon viewing tower of the *yagura 櫓 type found at a number of castles. Also…

Also read tsumejiro 詰城, or written 爪城 or tsume-no-shiro 攻の城.

1　The castle…

Same as tsunagijiro or tsunagishiro 繋城.

1　A type of branch castle *…

A decoy wall, or pseudo-wall. A wall that was built so as to hang over an earthen embankment or stone wall of a castle. When…

Tower connected with a gate or another tower. Examples connected to gates include Hikone-jō Taikomon 彦根城太鼓門 in Shiga…