The innermost compound *kuruwa 郭 of a castle. Sometimes called *…

Also *ni-no-maru 二の丸, ni-no-kuruwa 二の郭, naka-no-maru 中の丸.…

Castle plan; general term for the layout of a castle and its component structures. Lit. "stretched rope," the term is said…

The *jōkamachi 城下町, or town below the castle in the late medieval…

Also read nejō. Lit. "root castle." The base of military operations. When several castles comprise a unit, …

Lit. "second circle." The second compound outside of, or immediately adjacent to the main compound *…

A castle compound to the west of the main compound *honmaru 本丸. In a early-…

Also pronounced hōkadai. Also noroshidai 狼煙台 or noroshiba 狼煙場. A fire beacon; a stone platform on…

1　Also called *ishigaki 石垣; ishigaketsumi 石崖積; …

Lit. "cloth construction." Ashlar construction. Also termed nunozumi 布積 (cloth piling). A technique used in dry…

Lit. "belt compound." A long narrow castle compound. Obiguruwa were often constructed on the top of an earthen…

Lit. "fan slope." Also ōgikōbai 扇勾配 or miyakōbai 宮勾配 (shrine slope). The concave pitch of a stone…

Also written 扇子の縄. A castle plan shaped like a folding fan wherein the fortifications are distributed on either side of the…

Lit. "hillcastle." Also termed kyūryō jōkaku 丘陵城郭.
1　A castle built on a hillock, oka…

A castle wall that is undulates with indentations and protrusions. It is designed to allow for the strategic placement of…

A loophole in a wall *oribei 折塀 that zigzags back and forth like a folding screen *…

Also written 追手.
The front of a castle or fortification. Contrast with karamete 搦手 (the rear of a castle…

The front gate of a castle. Derive from *ōte 大手, the front of a castle or…