P7+Castle+Towns

**__Castle towns __**
 * __P7 Castle Towns __**

By: Matthew M and Rachel J

Castle towns were a big part of ancient Japan. They revolved around a Daimyo’s castle, which was in the middle of the town. Castle towns became popular in peaceful times, which is ironic because they were hugely about protection, and prepared for war. Castle towns weren’t just about protection, though. They also involved a strict social structure, multiple religions, Samurai warriors, and a military castle. They were an important part of Japanese history.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the person who 'Closed Japan's Doors'. He used military power and negotiations to unify all provinces under his control. This period of time is known as the time of unity and growth. During this time, the Japanese established the shogunate, which is the capital city in Edo, and is also known as modern day Tokyo. As mentioned before, during this time there was a very strict social class, and Japan was Isolated from the rest of the world for over 200 years, which is why people said that Tokugawa Ieyasu closed Japan's doors. After Japan had closed its doors, Castles became centers of government administration, and towns grew around the castle, which were mostly inhabited by artisans. Stables, inns and stores were established along the roads between Edo and the Castle towns. When Tokugawa Ieyasu closed Japan's doors, he also helped to create castle towns!

Everything in a castle town had something to do with the Daimyo’s castle. The castle had a lookout tower and many times had an advanced security system. Some castles had squeaky floors or long passages that ended in small gateways to confuse and trap invaders. If you looked at a castle town from an aerial view, the Daimyo’s castle would be in the middle and there would be rings of people living around the castle. The high ranking samurai live next to the castle, and some very important merchants and artisans lived in the castle’s walls along with the higher ranking samurai. Outside the castle’s walls, the other, lower ranking samurai lived and outside them were the other merchants and artisans. Even further out, were the peasant farmers that actually did the work. They lived in cramped living areas with not a lot of land and worked almost 24/7. The samurai generally had a better life than the farmers. Samurai were the warriors that served the emperor, the shogun, and their Daimyo. They also protected the boarders and fought for their master. Samurai were trained as scholars, and then warriors. The most important part of a samurai’s life is his honor. He is bound by honor to his master. A samurai without honor isn’t a samurai at all. The high ranking samurai lived next to the Daimyo’s castle to protect against attack or serve the Daimyo in other ways. The lower ranking samurai lived further away from the Daimyo’s castle. The size and accommodations of a samurai’s home depended on his rank. The higher the rank, the bigger the space was and the nicer the space was. The floors were raised off the ground in case of a flood, and the roofs were made of thatch, tiles, or shingles. There was little furniture in a samurai’s home and they used Tatami mats (cotton filled cloth mats to sleep on). A samurai didn’t want to draw his sword unless he needed to, because once he drew it, he was obliged to use it, by his code of honor. Also, one of the most honorable ways for a samurai to die is to commit seppuku, when you take your short sword, stab it through your stomach, and slice it up through your heart. A samurai only did this if they were about to be killed by an attacker. This was also done because of honor.

There was a very strict social structure in the castle towns. First the Emperor, then the Shogun, then the Daimyo, next was Samurai, and then came Ronin (rogue samurai without a master), artisans, peasants, and the lowest of all, Merchants. From all of the people in Japan, 80% - 90% of the people were only peasants, being forced to grow rice for the taxes for everyone in Japan. In fact, the Shogun made many laws not allowing the peasants to do anything other than grow rice. One of the ways that you could tell exactly what social class someone was in was by simply looking at their clothes. Before the 20th century, laws did not allow merchants to wear very nice clothes. For one thing, a person can judge from the hanging sleeves what social class someone is in. Common people were not allowed to wear nice fabrics and bright colors. The obis, which look like a belt, can be tied many different ways, which helped to express the woman's individuality since they had to wear clothes so similar in each social class. Also, when buying fabric for a kimono, it was a very important to select the absolute perfect kind. After the fabric was selected, women sewed the kimonos themselves. For men's clothing, a coat is similar to a kimono, except it is shorter. A man's coat does not have a design like a kimono that it repeated multiple times, but instead has a composition like a landscape. A coat, or hanten, is asymmetrical and gives an illusion of depth. When worn, the coat will be partly hidden by an obi.

Miyabi was a strict code of courtly manners that court nobles had to follow. Miyabi required them to keep an elegant appearance by perfectly arranging the hems of their robes and wearing elaborate clothing and makeup that was done perfectly. Some women shaved their eyebrows and colored them back in with pencil so that their eyebrows would be perfect. Court nobles also had to practice restrained behavior so they were as elegant as what they wore. It was considered rude for women to laugh with their mouth open, or eat with their mouth open (that made eating without a fan to cover your mouth hard). Origami was created by nobles practicing their folds to get them perfect so that when they folded letters, they would be exact, so the letter wouldn’t get sent back to them. Failure to comply with these rules would socially disgrace you and your family. I certainly wouldn’t want to be a court noble.

There are many religions in Japan, and specifically inside of castle towns. Two of Japan's main religions are Buddhism and Shinto. Shinto stressed on cleanliness, as well as neatness and order, they often had ritual washings, and they followed a code of honor and respect for all living things. The code told the Shinto to appreciate the beauty in nature, and to have a preference for simplicity. Zen Buddhists focus on meditation, and are monotheistic. These religious practices can relate like this; for Buddhists, the natural setting becomes the focus for meditation and clearing, or for the Shinto 'cleaning', in the mind. These two religions along with all the other topics add some diversity to the castle towns.

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__** Citations **__

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