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Anōshū
The Anōshū (Japanese language, Japanese: 穴太衆) or the Anō groups were the stonemasonry engineers that were active in the Azuchi-Momoyama period, Azuchi-Momoyama and early Edo period, Edo periods, of the late 16th to the 17th centuries in Japan. They were mainly engaged in building the stone walls and moats of the temples and castles, that can be still observed today in Japan. They were from Anō, a village in Sakamoto (:ja:坂本 (大津市), 坂本), Ōmi Province, now included in the city of Ōtsu, just east of Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto. The Anōshū apparently gained their stonemasonry experience by working on the stone walls of the Enryaku-ji Buddhist Temple nearby, and Oda Nobunaga's Azuchi Castle, built from 1576 to 1579, as one of the first large-scale castles in Japan. Two clans were prominently recognized among the Ano groups. The Goto Clan (後藤家), which originated from Goto Mootsugu (:ja:後藤基次), was involved in building Osaka Castle and Kanazawa Castle in Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Castle
are fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such as ports, river crossings, or crossroads, and almost always incorporated the landscape into their defenses. Though they were built to last and used more stone in their construction than most Japanese buildings, castles were still constructed primarily of wood, and many were destroyed over the years. This was especially true during the Sengoku period (1467–1603), when many of these castles were first built. However, many were rebuilt, either later in the Sengoku period, in the Edo period (1603–1867) that followed, or more recently, as national heritage sites or museums. Today there are more than one hundred castles extant, or partially extant, in Japan; it is estimated that once there were five thousand. Some castles, such as the ones a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
