Japanese castle interior, warriors running passage

A thought that crossed my mind while visiting several of the Japanese castles with original interior, was that although impressive on the outside, the castles were built with the same philosophy as the houses, with a small and minimalist interior.

Since many Japanese castles are today rebuilt with a modern arrangement, you may get the feeling that inside the space was generous. But the truth is that the original interior was thoroughly planned and like in traditional Japanese houses, designed for basic needs, with simplicity and good taste…

Even a large castle like Matsumoto, on the inside is sometimes extremely narrow. This passage, called musha-bashiri ("warriors running passage"), is located at the first floor and it is the widest passage in the castle, designed to allow the warriors to run around fully-armored and geared, while fighting against besiegers…

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Matsumoto Castle, Matsumoto

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Photo participating to Travel Photo Thursday

Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Yokohama Minato Mirai 21 aerial panorama