A brief on Japanese Fortifications

[Gamerprinter]

Oooh...Oooh! I've been to Japan. I was nearly tackled by guards at the Imperial Palace, because I was standing to close to the mote.

The area around Fujiyama is beautiful, if you ever get a chance. Also visit the lake around Hokone. Pure beauty.


PS - Try some Yakitori and Sukiyaki.

I climbed Fujiyama - more a hike, really - took me 7 hours to get to the top and 10 minutes to get down, on foot. Did the whole Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima by bullet train, swam in both the Pacific and Sea of Japan side of the island, I've got family in Shimaneken, Yokosuka (near Kamakura), and Yokohama. I eat Japanese food all the time...

One of my cousins came here on a post college trip with college buddies (architects) seeing American architecture - they rented a car and drove from coast to coast to coast. We're all too busy to see each other now.

Oh, my old avatar was a 3D model of a kabuto (Samurai Helmet and war mask) which is part of my Boy's Day miniature Samurai War Armor and stand. May 5th (not just cinco de mayo) is Boy's Day in Japan, celebrated with Carp Kites, and a Shogun's suit of armor put on display...

I was on a shopping trip to Yokohama, with my Mom and sister, the Boy's Day accoutrement were on display. The wooden box, where one would put the display away, and used as a seat for the armor stand was alone. A little 3 year old Japanese boy, sat on it. The top is like veneer, very thin wood and it partially crushed under his weight. The price tag on the armor set was 100,000 yen, which in 1977 was $500 (made of steel, silk, horsehair - quality hand-made work) the shop manager looked at the broken lid, looked at me, then with a marker crossed off a "0" so it went from 100K yen to 10K yen, or $500 to $50 - so I bought it. Its still my favorite souveneer and I put it up on display for the whole month of May, each year...

GP

PS: sorry for the threadjack on my own thread!

PPS: this weekend, I'll dig it out, set it up and take photo to post here...

[Ascension]

Oh, I'd love to see that since all I have are the replica swords (gave my katana and wakizashi to my best friend for a wedding gift...she was less than pleased though )

[Gamerprinter]

I have a 200 year old family katana. As well as some blades only (no hilts) for 2 katana and a wakizashi. Actually at my parents house, so not mine per se.

GP

EDIT: my ancestors were not samurai, rather physicians for the local daimyo for almost 1,000 years, so were allowed to wear a single blade, katana only, not the daisho or two blades as were carried by samurai class. In fact the family name (mother's side) is Shimizu - which means "purest water", probably related to the curative means of the first of that name.

[Midgardsormr]

Crosslink to Hoel's "How to build a fortress"

http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=3890

[oni]

Most of Nijō Castle in Kyoto is still standing. Though most of it has burnt down at different times and been replaced.

It's not very defendable and it seems like it was mostly built by the Shogun to keep an eye on the Emperor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nij%C5%8D_Castle