Castletowns2

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A town built with a castle in the center Castles belonged to daimyo Samurai often did work around, like collecting taxes Merchants also lived in castle towns, but not in the castles Samurai often served daimyo and did deeds for him In free time, they enjoyed hunting, swimming, and martial arts Played go, a board game with stones Enjoyed writing poetry, practiced flower arranging, and the Tea Ceremony There were towers, called tenshu, protected by moats or stone walls and connected to smaller towers Maze of corridors and gate ways made it difficult to for enemies to invade the castle, had as many as seven floors Turreted windows, stone dropping chutes Very normal People lived in neighborhoods by class Higher ranking samurai lived close to the castle, Lower ones further, along with artisans and merchants Size of house depended on rank, but they were all wood and thatch No permanent walls, rooms divided by wall panels that could slide across floor Had little furniture few cushions and tables, and beds All samurai were masters in their household.
 * 1) 1 What is a castletown?
 * 1) 2 What do samurai in castle towns do?
 * 1) 3 What were some features in a daimyo's castle?
 * 1) 4 What was life like outside the castle walls?
 * 1) 5 What were samurai houses like?

1. In the time of the of the samurai there where towns built around castles. In the castle the daimyo and his highest samurai live. Outside of the castle walls is where the rest of the samurai live. The rest of the people in the town live very normal but most of the action that went on in the town happened right outside the gates of the castle. That is were all of the beggars where and that is where many people went to buy or sell food and goods. The big castle in the middle is made up of towers called tenshu, protected by moats or stone walls and the tenshu connected to smaller towers. The daimyos castle had many gates and many samurai standing at each get to protect from any invader. These Castles where flexible enough to absorb shock of earthquakes.

2. When working around a castletown, a samurai often had a lot of work to do. First off, they served their leader, or daimyo. They did deeds for him, like collecting taxes and accompanied him when he traveled. But even in their busy lives, samurai had a lot of free time. They generally enjoyed hunting, swimming, and martial arts. Also, they wrote poetry, practiced flower arranging and the Tea Ceremony were favorite activities for a samurai. They also played go, a board game with stones, and, sometimes, they would hide their identity by putting on basketlike hats that covered the face and go to a Kabuki theater. That is what samurai did for the most part.

3. As mentioned before, a castle town, is a town built around a castle belonging to a daimyo. Now, let's take a closer look inside the castle. The daimyo's castle had a lot of features, especially for defense. A castle was made up of a tenshu, or a tower, that was protected, usually by moats or stone walls. The tenshu was also connected to smaller towers. Invading a castle was very difficult. There was usually a maze of corridors and gateways, which was often very tiring, not to mention that people would be trying to kill you at the same time. Castles had as many as seven floors. Some defense mechanisms that were often featured in castles were turreted windows to shoot out of without exposing the whole body, and stone-dropping chutes, which you could drop stones out of to injure enemies attempting to climb up the walls. That is what a daimyo's castle was like and some cool features it had.

4. Life outside the castle walls was very normal but most of the action that went on in the town happened right outside the gates of the castle. That is were all of the beggars where and that is where many people went to buy or sell food and goods. The samurai lived outside of the castle walls so for the people to see samurai was not very rare. For the people outside of the castle walls when the castle would be invaded they would first defend themselves and then they would either go into the castle or they would run away.

5. So you know what samurai did. Ever wonder what their houses were like? Well, you're about to find out. Samurai lived in wood-thatch houses, not in their leader's castle. The size of their house depended on rank, but they all had the same design, and had slanted roofs. Higher ranking samurai lived closer to the castle, and lower ones further away. Also, some artisans and merchants lived near the castle in castletowns. Samurai's houses had no permanent walls. Instead they had panels that could slide across the floor. Samurai's houses had little furniture; usually a few beds, tables and cushions. All furniture was built low to the ground, since most people sat or kneeled on the floor. All samurai, no matter the rank, were masters in their own house, and everybody in it must obey him. The samurai also often got to sleep on the thickest, most comfortable mattress. So, now you know all about castle towns.  >
 *  Schomp, Virginia. Japan in the Days of the Samurai. New York: Benchmark Books/M. Cavendish, c2002. Print.
 *  Williams, Brian. Forts & Castles. New York: Viking, 1994. Print