Nagoya Castle's Fan Sloping Wall

The castle from Nagoya was built by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1612. Because a large part of the castle was destroyed in 1945, the main donjon (in the photo) was rebuilt in 1959 and the reconstruction of the castle's former palace still continues and it will be finished in 2018.

An interesting detail is the stone wall supporting the main donjon, built in a technique called ogi kobai - "fan sloping". This technique is also known as Kiyomasa-style Crescent Stone Wall, after the famous Japanese daimyo Kiyomasa Kato, an excellent architect specialized in castles and fortifications.

The curving of the wall has the role to improve the wall's resistance but also to improve its defense capability by making it harder to climb. And last but not least, it gives elegance and beauty to the whole building...