Castles in Japan: Black and White as Gender Distinction

Preparing for castle-viewing…

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Francois: There aren’t many, are there?

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Kenzo: There’s more than a hundred now but in their heyday, more than five thousand.

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Francois: They were built as forts, right?

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Kenzo: Originally, they guarded strategic points, like crossroads and rivers. Later they became administrative buildings, and palatial residences for daimyo.

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Francois: Built of stone?

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Kenzo: The base was generally rocks. But the keep was usually wood.

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Francois: I like wooden buildings.

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Kenzo: But many wooden buildings burned down, and they were largely rebuilt in modern times in concrete.

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Francois: And I guess cannons destroyed a lot of them?

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Kenzo: Actually no. Japanese firearms, arquebuses, were rarer and weaker than European cannons. More emphasis was placed on laying siege, cutting off supplies to the castle. It was thought more honorable for battles to be fought outside the castle.

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Francois: They’re very strong looking and exert a military masculine atmosphere.

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Kenzo: The black ones do, but the white castles, such as Himeji, are said to project a more feminine air.

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Voice-over

Francois’s perceptions of a Japanese castle seem to be influenced by his experience of European castles. Some travelers view the sights through stereotypical glasses.

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