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15:43, 17 April 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Odani Castle (Odanijō is a yamajiro (mountaintop castle) ruin in the Odani area of Nagahama Municipality. Ruins feature earthworks and masonry. It took me eight hours to cover, broadly speaking, the whole site. Of course, to survey every single feature would be a near unending task, so my visit was still a relatively casual one. I made two ascents (and descents) of the castlemount, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so as to cover everything. Odani Castle is actually a network of ridgetop and m...)
14:24, 11 April 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Minakuchi Castle (Interesting! Seems like it's been through a lot. If the configuration is different now then I woudn't think it's classed as a proper genson, if you will.)
11:16, 11 April 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Minakuchi Castle (I did some reading on the reconstructed yagura/museum. There is conflicting information about it, but it does seem clear that it has some genson elements. It was originally the Honmaru Inui Yagura, was moved to a private dwelling, and then it (or at least some parts of it) were used to construction the current yagura, albeit of course in a different location. It also seems that it may have originally been a 3-level yagura, but the current one has only 2 levels. Some sources state that it...)
19:58, 8 April 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Matsuoyama Castle (Re-made profile. Moved to 'Matsuoyama Castle'.)
10:30, 8 April 2024 223.132.224.85 talk posted a new comment on Edo Castle Stone Quarries (Thank you for this! Really interesting.)
17:17, 3 April 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Ako Castle (I visited Ako Castle for the first time the other day, and quite enjoyed it! One thing that struck me: although the original castle wasn't huge, if maps and models are to be believed, it now covers pretty much its entire original grounds. With the Honmaru being in good shape and containing some great yaguradai and so on, they could have just restored the Honmaru and said 'This is the castle,' but instead they chose to also work on the Ninomaru and Sannnomaru. So it's quite large for a c...)
18:21, 24 March 2024 122.211.145.154 talk posted a new comment on Kanazawa Castle (One interesting tidbit: I've noticed that the Ishikawamon gate complex include 8 separate Important Cultural Properties! These include the Ichinomon (the Karaimon gate), the Ninomon (gatehouse), the two-story turret, the L-shaped tsuzukiyagura, the long section of dobei on the left side of the complex, the long section of dobei on the right side of the complex, the short section of dobei on the left side of the Ichinomon and the short section of dobei on the right side of the Ichinomon. Ho...)
16:50, 8 March 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Edo Castle (I have been making a similar point about the Fujimi Yagura for years. It seems that the definition of both 'tenshu' and 'genson' (badly translated as 'original' in English) have some variation in interpretation. I really dislike the term 'original castle' anyway since it's misleading to assess how well-preserved a castle is based only on the keep, and Edo castle is a prime example of how limiting the term is.)
16:45, 8 March 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Edo Castle (I went to Edo Castle more than 20 years ago... really need to go back. I think I just saw a bit of it, the area where you can see Tatsumi Yagura, Kikyomon Gate and Fujimi Yagura. Despite the fact that much of it is gone, it still seems like it must be one of the very greatest castles in Japan. And was once the biggest castle in the world, I think? It also seems a bit like Nijo Castle in that it's often overlooked because it's a 'palace' and lacks a tenshu. But it is definitely in the to...)
15:39, 7 March 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Inuyama Castle (I visited this one back in 2009, and quite enjoyed it. Obviously, the extant main keep and its attached annex is the star of the show, with lots of atmosphere inside. But there are several other appealing points, especially the riverside location and view of the keep, the historical town beneath the castle, and the ishigaki on the castle hill. I also like the little collection of buildings in the Honmaru--I have heard that they are more or less mogi, but they give it more of the feel of a...)
08:40, 5 March 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Sasayama Shuzan Daikansho (Well the building next to it looks nice at least.)
15:58, 22 February 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Uwajima Castle (I visited Uwajima Castle in fall 2022, and quite enjoyed it. As mentioned elsewhere here, photos of the main keep standing in isolation really don't do it justice. The keep itself is a great historical building, and very well-preserved, but it's best seen against the ishigaki and yaguradai of the Honmaru. And there are lots of good ishigaki in the various baileys on the castle hill. Really a nice place to climb around, and the somewhat ancient, overgrown appearance of some of the ishigaki...)
22:38, 8 February 2024 Eric talk contribs deleted comment #2744 on Shirakawa Castle
10:24, 6 February 2024 203.122.231.101 talk posted a new comment on Shirakawa Castle (/ ****** soo de den now)
08:55, 6 February 2024 Eric talk contribs deleted comment #2741 on Wakayama Castle
08:55, 6 February 2024 Eric talk contribs deleted comment #2743 on Wakayama Castle
08:55, 6 February 2024 Eric talk contribs deleted comment #2742 on Wakayama Castle
08:32, 6 February 2024 203.122.231.101 talk posted a new comment on Wakayama Castle (Inh)
08:32, 6 February 2024 203.122.231.101 talk posted a new comment on Wakayama Castle (Mew)
08:32, 6 February 2024 203.122.231.101 talk posted a new comment on Wakayama Castle (🤫🤫🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🤫🤫🧏🧏🤫🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🧏🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫🧏🧏🧏🧏)
13:24, 31 January 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Chiba Castle (What a mess! But it is an interesting situation.)
13:08, 31 January 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Matsue Castle (I find that the several restored turrets and the restored gate at Matsue Castle are really well-done, and do a good job of making it seem like more of a complete castle, as opposed to a majestic tower with an attached turret. I'm really hoping that they can get the Ote Gate rebuilt as planned, because that would enhance it even more.)
12:34, 26 January 2024 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Ichijodani Castle Town (I really appreciate this article. I visited Ichijodani several years ago and was blown away by it, but this article and all of the places about the specific parts of the castles and castle town really helps me understand it much better.)
13:04, 24 January 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Tsukikuma Castle (Updated profile and gallery with new pictures and co-ordinates.)
15:39, 23 January 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Fukuoka Castle (Updated visit notes section with some more info and my own impressions.)
13:32, 23 January 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Kokura Castle (Gallery, information and notes updated; co-ordinates added.)
10:22, 23 January 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Kurume Castle (Updated profile with co-ordinates, new pics, info, &c.)
06:37, 20 January 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Samurai Residences (Map of castles with samurai homes: https://jcastle.info/view/Samurai_homes The closest to Tokyo is Sakura Castle.)
03:27, 19 January 2024 199.216.81.20 talk posted a new comment on Samurai Residences (add how many of these are in popular places like tokyo or near mt.fugi)
05:41, 8 January 2024 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Chigasaki Castle (Eric, that's propbably the case. Not quite Yuhigaoka levels yet! It's still preserved, what with barriers and stuff, but now so as a nature reserve rather than castle ruin.)
13:38, 7 January 2024 Eric talk contribs posted a new comment on Chigasaki Castle (I see that I visited shortly after the excavations and studies were done. I'll bet they never gave it any attention since then. Was it as bad as Yuhigaoka? ;))
13:37, 7 January 2024 Eric talk contribs deleted comment #2729 on Chigasaki Castle
13:28, 7 January 2024 Eric talk contribs posted a new comment on Chigasaki Castle (I see that I visited shortly after the excavations and studies were done. I'll bet they never gave it any attention since then. Was it as bad as Yurigaoka? ;))
13:23, 7 January 2024 Eric talk contribs posted a new comment on Hiraizumi Date (Thanks guys! Nice team work :))
07:35, 22 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Hiraizumi Date (Thank you! I only made the profile recently so it's not been up long. Have modified profile in light of your contributions.)
02:50, 22 December 2023 Furinkazan talk contribs posted a new comment on Hiraizumi Date (I visited Hiraizumi in 2015 and a day later the Esashi Fujiwara village. Both are wonderful sites to bewonder. I didn't know until today(21/12/2023), that these sites were on Jcastle. Adam or ART told me about it on the FB page Japanese Castles. At his request I have uploaded several pictures I took at the original site of Yanaginogosho in Hiraizumi. There isn't that much to see, but there are a lot of explanation panels around the site. I uploaded only 3 of those.)
09:02, 19 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Chigasaki Castle (Chiǵasakijō is an hilltop fort ruin in Tsuzuki Ward, Yokohama Municipality. Chiǵasakijō is maintained as a park and features earthworks such as karabori (dry moats), dorui (earthen ramparts) and kuruwa (baileys). The castle has a central bailey, north bailey, east bailey and west bailey. There are signs and detailed information boards denominating castle features and sections throughout the park. I stayed in Yokohama after attending the 2023 Shiro Expo, and visited Chiǵasakijō the next day....)
18:01, 14 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Kokura Castle (Added the daimyo villa Goyusho)
09:29, 12 December 2023 23.242.5.16 talk posted a new comment on Kagoshima Castle (Could you please provide an ancient silk drawing, later woodprint, modern painting, or at least an artist's sketch of how the castle looked when it was built in 1601 (or a little later)? We need this to describe it in our literary and historic writings about Japan. Thank you!)
07:45, 6 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Iga Ueno Castle (Great find!)
16:02, 5 December 2023 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Iga Ueno Castle (I did some reading about this castle the other day, and realized that there is actually one extant building remaining: the armory. It's on the ground of the local high-school, which is part of the former castle grounds. Here is one of the articles I found that explains it: https://mieoutsiderblog.seesaa.net/article/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%A3%E3%81%8B%E3%81%AA%E3%81%B3%E3%81%A3%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8A%E3%80%80%E9%AB%98%E6%A0%A1%E3%81%AB%E6%AD%A6%E5%99%A8%E5%BA%AB%EF%BC%81%EF%BC%9F%E3%80%80%E7%8F%BE%E5%A...)
13:20, 5 December 2023 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Okayama Castle (I've been to this castle a couple of times. I love the views of it from the river and from Koraku-en. The main keep is also pretty unique in its design. I liked the extant Tsukimi Yagura and the reconstructed gates. My main quibble with this castle is that it's another one that's kind of a shadow of its former self in terms of remaining area: a lot of the former castle grounds have been heavily built-over. I'll give it 4-stars based on my last visit, but looks like they have refurbished...)
09:28, 5 December 2023 Eric talk contribs posted a new comment on Osaka Castle (Thanks! I'll go too!)
08:38, 5 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Saga Castle (Updated gallery with new photos, descriptions and co-ordinates.)
19:20, 4 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Tojo Castle (Updated, including gallery updates of site today.)
08:58, 4 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Tojo Castle (as for the yellow designation... since there's still some palings and kabukimon, maybe it can remain? technically the only building on site is the toilets, but this koya does have a 'sengoku style' to it...)
08:57, 4 December 2023 ART talk contribs posted a new comment on Tojo Castle (So I went down again. Sadly the yaguramon and miyagura are both gone. The koguchi now has only a new sign, and the miyagura has the old sign but with only the foundation stumps remaining. There's still some babousaku (cheval de frise) around the site though, and a pair of kabukimon. This time I checked out the whole ruins and all of the earthworks though, so it was worth going back. It's still a nice site and is well maintained for the most part.)
09:10, 3 December 2023 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Osaka Castle (Some exciting news for Osaka Castle fans: next year, as part of the usual special turret openings (spring, summer, fall), the Inui Yagura will be opened, apparently for the first time in about 10 years. I have never been in the Inui Yagura, so I'm very excited. In addition, as usual the Sengan Yagura and Tamon complex (the gatehouse and the Tamon turret it connects to) will be opened as usual.)
09:07, 3 December 2023 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Osaka Castle (I saw the pictures of the renovated karamon on this site's FB page. I visited Chikubushima before the renovation, and was really impressed by how beautiful it looks now! Anyway, it's definitely nice to have some relics of the original Osaka Castle to see.)
14:19, 30 November 2023 Matthew Ward talk contribs posted a new comment on Kakegawa Castle (Thanks! I definitely saw the dorui in the 4th picture. Next time, I'll have to look for the great trench too.)

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