Layout Styles/Designs
When looking at a wide range of castles, there are many uniform aspects of the castle’s design and layout, such as moats, large stone walls and courtyards. There are however three different layout styles that are seen most frequently in Japanese history. In these layout styles the positioning of the three courtyards are what vary most between the three layouts.
The first style is the “Rinkaku Style”, where the first courtyard is in the center, and the second and third courtyard are arranged in concentric circles around it. Because of this design, moats and stone walls had to be extremely long. This layout design is ideal for defense, however there are few castles in history that have followed this design. This could be because defense works were costly and labor intensive.
The second style is the “Renkaku Style”. In this layout, the first courtyard is in the center, and the second and third courtyard are on either side. Because of this design, the first courtyard was very exposed. In order to help prevent attacks, it was necessary to provide more protection for that courtyard.
The final style is the “Hashigokaku Style, where the first courtyard forms the apex of the castle, and the second and third courtyard “descend like steps like a staircase” (Elements and Features, 152) from the first courtyard. Because of this design, the first courtyard was exposed on one side. Because of this exposed side, attacks were significantly easier to execute. In order to prevent these attacks, castles with this layout would have geographical features such as bodies of water, or cliffs backing on the side in order to provide for more protection.