Blood of the Yakuza - Free

above the ground. Inside one normally
finds a single hall, decorated very
simply. There are no statues or representations
of the deity to be seen in
the shrine itself. The shrine is the center
of the local community. it is not
unusual to find the old men or the
young children here passing the time
in talk and play.
Temples, where money allows, are
usually much more imposing structures.
Most are a collection of buildings,
centered around a single great
hall. Built on a large stone foundation,
this hall is reached by a flight of broad
steps. inside are huge statues of the
deity or deities worshipped at that
temple. These are often in arrangements
of three—each a different representation
of the same deity or
complementary deities grouped
together. Although such hails look to
be two or more stories tall from the
outside, they seldom have more than
one floor, the inside having grand pillars
and lofty ceilings. Since the hall is
used for a number of different
purposes—sermons, instruction, ceremonies,
and daily prayer—the spaces
between the pillars are designed to
be closed off by portable screens and
sliding shoji walls.
In addition to the main hall, a temple
compound will have several other
buildings. To the right and left of the
main hall are the drum and bell towers
and in the center will be a huge
incense burner for offerings. Other
buildings include imposing gatehouses
with huge iron-clad gates, pagodas
with five, seven or thirteen stories,
quarters for the priests and monks, a
library building for the holy sutras, and
a smaller lecture hall, mainly used for
the instruction of the clergy. A well
established temple will also have a
separate mansion for its abbot, quarters
for the sohei and one or more gardens
and soan.
The castle of Nakamaru is truly different
from the other buildings of the
city. First, it is much more impressive
and imposing than any other building
in the town. It is built on the slopes and
top of the highest hill in the city. Fishermen
at the dock and farmers in their
fields can see the main tower rising
over ail the other roofs of the city. Secondly,
it is designed not only for show,
but for defense. Although the lord of
Nakamaru does not live inside the
castle itself (his mansion is on its
grounds), he will quickly retreat to it in
case of seige.
The castle’s features broad eaves
and wooden construction—have been
changed to better protect defenders.
The wooden walls have been heavily
plastered, covered several layers thick.
Unlike most castles, whose walls are
normally whitewashed, the walls here
have been covered with black paint,
creating a striking effect. The broad
eaves have concealed trapdoors, used
during a siege to toss down stones
(ishiotoshi), boiling water, and other
deterrents atop an enemy.
The castle also uses a great deal of
stone, far more than in any ordinary
building. The main donjon or tenshukaku
rests on a massive base of stone
35’ high and approximately 130’
square at the bottom. Surrounding the
tenshu-kaku are several sets of walls
and gates. These too are built on solid
stone foundations.
The actual defenses of the castle
begin well away from the hill where
the main buildings are located. The
first line of castle defense are the ramparts
that run through the center of the
city. These earthworks are set behind
a broad moat and divide the samurai
district from the rest of the city. Past
this, down streets filled with sudden
twists and bends is the second line of
defense, the outer wall. Inside this
wall are the mansions of the more
important samurai. The wall is pierced
by several stout gates, each manned
by its own troop of soldiers. Beyond
this, at the base of the hill, is a combination
moat and wall. Wooden
bridges span this moat at three points,
passing through iron clad gates.
Inside are the different courtyards of
the castle. These are filled with the
mansions of the most powerful (and
15
trusted!) retainers of the daimyo. Each
courtyard is separated from the others
by stone and plastered walls and
occasional moats. Complex gates
allow entrance from one bailey to the
next. Each courtyard rises higher up
the hill than the last.
From this point on, the route of any
attacker is forced into certain paths.
First, he must pass through ironclad
gates while being hailed by arrows,
stones, boiling water, and hot oil from
the gatehouse above. Beyond this is a
small courtyard with another gate on
the right side. All the time they are vulnerable
to the archers firing through
the loopholes of the walls above.
Once through both gates, the attacker
must charge up a narrow roadway,
switchbacking several times and ail
the while under attack from archers
firing from behind loopholes. At the
end of this road way is another set of
gates similar to the first and farther
beyond is another deadly path. All this
ends in a small ironclad gate that
opens into the main courtyard. But
even from here to reach the main
entrance of the tenshu-kaku, the
attackers must pass through more
gates while under constant fire from
the defenders. It is no wonder that
attackers by far preferred to surround
and starve a castle into surrender
than risk a direct assault!
The tenshu-kaku itself is four stories
tall and 120’ feet square on the first
floor. The top floor of the tower is 55’
feet above the first floor and 90’ above
the ground. Within the tower are
armories, granaries, storerooms, a
well, and council chambers. In times
of war, these can be quickly and easily
converted into quarters for the lord,
his family, and his men. The lower
floors contain stores and the quarters
for the lord’s soldiers. The second and
third floors are reserved for the important
samurai and the lord himself. The
fourth floor is a watchtower from
which the surrounding city can be
observed. There is little doubt that the
tenshu-kaku itself could withstand a
long seige.