During the program, we visited the Kumamoto Castle and it was one of the coolest things I ever saw in Japan. I have been to Japan quite a few times but it was my first time visiting a Japanese castle. What I liked about Kumamoto Castle is how the structure of the castle is built to prepare for a battle. For example, the stone walls of the castles are at an angle so that attackers would have difficulty climbing. Also, windows were placed strategically to drop stones and space for archers. I was also amazed by the location of the castles. There used to be a hill that extended to the north and the castle was built right at the tip of the hill. To prevent attackers from the north side, they dug up the hill so that it made it impossible to move from the north. It was built on a hill and it made it possible for the castle to be surrounded by three-sided cliffs. Also, there were rivers on the east and south sides of the castle so it even made it harder to attack. Only the east side is available to attack. But the person who built the castle made the east side flat so that it attracts attackers and ambushes them from high grounds. Before coming to the Kumamoto castle, I thought all these fancy stone walls and the architecture of the building were just for looks but it had a greater meaning to it. After the program, because I enjoyed the Kumamoto castle, I went to three different castles in Japan. Another thing I liked about Japanese castles was how different each castle was. The history behind the construction of the castles and the different tactics it was used. One of the castles I visited that was different from other castles was the Matsue Castle, located in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Of course, there were defensive systems in the interior and exterior of the castle but there were also schemes in the town that surrounded the castle. The 4-way intersection of the towns was purposely built so that you actually can’t see the opposite side of the road. So that it makes a blind spot for attackers which makes them confused. The Matue Castle also focused heavily on the towns to slow down the attack to prepare for the actual battle at the castle. There are still hundreds of castles in Japan so I hope I get to see them all.
