Getting to know Japanese castles and picking out your favorites

It’s April and I have enrolled in a Japanese language class. My goal? To memorize 30 kanji a day. As an old idiom goes, though, 口では大阪の城も建つ (kuchi de wa Ōsaka no shiro mo tatsu). That literally means “even castles in Osaka can be built by mouth” but was traditionally used to convey the idea of something being “easier said than done.”

Perhaps settling for another goal would be a better decision. In that case, I might actually try visiting 大阪城 (Ōsaka-jō, Osaka Castle) and the other two 城 (shiro, castles) — 姫路城 (Himeji-jō, Himeji Castle) and 名古屋城 (Nagoya-jō, Nagoya Castle) — that make up Japan’s 三名城 (sanmeijō, top three castles).

You see, while I was waiting for Japan to open its borders to foreign students again, I satiated my desire to be in the country by doing a bit of reading on Japanese 城, pronounced “shiro” when standing alone and “jō” when tacked on to the end of a name.

There are reportedly more than 300 城 in Japan, and that’s not including 宮殿 (kyūden) or 御殿 (go-ten), which both refer to palaces. The 皇居 (kōkyo, imperial residence) has a 宮殿, for instance, where various ceremonies take place.

No, I’m talking about 城, which have specific characteristics such as the fact that they were built in large part for defensive purposes. Like castles in other countries, one main element of this defense is the 堀 (hori, moat).

Some Japanese castles may have more than one 堀. In fact, 姫路城 has three of them: The 外堀 (sotobori, outer moat), the 中堀 (naka-bori, central moat) and the 内堀 (uchibori, inner moat). These moats can be 水堀 (mizu-bori, water moats) or 空堀 (kara-bori, empty moats). Until 1992, 姫路城の中堀 (Himeji-jō no naka-bori, Himeji Castle’s central moat) was a 空堀, but authorities gradually began to fill it with water again and now maintain it using a special pump. That may have been a good move since, traditionally, 水堀 not only provided protection from attack and assassination attempts, they also served as reservoirs in case a fire broke out.

Of course, where there are 堀 there needs to be a 橋 (hashi, bridge), which means you’ll see a lot of those near a castle. Other architectural elements include 門 (mon, gates), 櫓 (yagura, watchtowers) and, as you move through the 丸 (maru, baileys), a 天守 (tenshu, keep). Look to the top of the castle and you’ll also likely see 鯱 (shachi, tiger-headed carp), which are believed to protect the castle from fire.

Adding to the defenses will be impressive 石垣 (ishigaki, rock walls) that feature small holes in the walls called 狭間 (sama) from which arrows or gunfire would rain down on enemy forces during a siege. Built into the 天守 will be 石落とし (ishiotoshi, machicolations) that would allow those inside to drop rocks or boiling oil onto any would-be attackers below.

日本で一番古いお城は備中松山城です (Nihon de ichiban furui o-shiro wa Bitchū Matsuyama-jō desu, The oldest castle in Japan is Bitchu Matsuyama Castle). It is located in Takahashi, Okayama Prefecture.

一番美しいお城は熊本にある熊本城だと思います (Ichiban utsukushii o-shiro wa Kumamoto ni aru Kumamoto-jō desu, The most beautiful castle is Kumamoto Castle in Kumamoto I think [in my opinion]).

When trying to emphasize that something is the most or best in Japanese, it’s common to use the word 一番 (ichiban), which literally means “No. 1.” It’s a useful structure to know when you return home after your castle tours, or simply when you’re out for a drink: 一番安いワインをお願いします (Ichiban yasui wain o onegaishimasu, I’ll take the cheapest wine, please).

It’s also used when talking about something that is your favorite, whether that’s your 一番好きな映画 (ichiban sukina eiga, favorite movie) or your 一番好きな本 (ichiban sukina hon, favorite book). Literally, you’re saying “most liked,” and you can use the structure to ask about someone’s favorite castle, too: 姫路城と名古屋城と大阪城の中で、どれが一番好きですか? (Himeji-jō to Nagoya-jō to Ōsaka-jō no naka de, dore ga ichiban suki desu ka?, Among Himeji, Nagoya and Osaka castles, which is your favorite/which do you like the most?)

姫路城をはじめとして、大きいお城が好きです (Himeji-jō o hajime to shite, ōkii o-shiro ga suki desu, Starting with Himeji Castle, I like big castles).

When you want to point out a primary example of something, use the をはじめとして structure (and note that the として part is sometimes dropped): 奈良大仏をはじめ、日本中に大きい仏像があります (Nara daibutsu o hajime, Nihon-jū ni ōkii butsu-zō ga arimasu, Starting with the big Buddha statue in Nara, there are large buddha statues throughout Japan).

That structure isn’t used in conversational Japanese, however. When talking about other examples it is best to use だけで(は)なく~(も) (dake de [wa] naku ~ [mo], not only ~ but also): 奈良には大仏だけではなく、鎌倉大仏もありますよ (Nara niwa daibutsu dake dewa naku, Kamakura daibutsu mo arimasu yo, There isn’t only a big Buddha statue in Nara, there is a big Buddha statue in Kamakura, too).

Another way of providing a prime example as part of a broad topic is to use the と言うと (to iu to, speaking of/if you’re talking about) structure. When someone says Xと言うと, the thing that is “X” is meant to trigger an automatic response.

日本のお城と言うと、姫路城が一番人気だって (Nihon no o-shiro to iu to, Himeji-jō ga ichiban ninki datte, If you’re talking about Japanese castles, they say that Himeji Castle is the most popular).

お寺と言うと、やっぱり、観光客は京都の金閣寺を見に行きたい (O-tera to iu to, yappari, kankōkyaku wa Kyōto no Kinkaku-ji o mi ni ikitai, Speaking of temples, as expected, tourists will want to go see the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto).

Has all this talk about travel sparked your wanderlust? With the weather getting warmer, heading out to Japan’s many historical sites no longer seems like 口では大阪の城も建つ.