Throughout its history, the United States has faced numerous moments where tensions escalated to the brink of war, yet diplomatic efforts, negotiations, or sheer circumstance averted full-scale conflict. These pivotal instances have significantly influenced America’s foreign policy and shaped its international relations. This article explores fifteen such critical junctures where war was narrowly avoided, highlighting ...

  Japanese castles, or (o)shiro, might be symbols of the country’s feudal past but they have played a key role in shaping modern Japan. It was through the building, taking, and destroying of castles that powerful feudal lords managed to reunite the country after the imperial and military governments collapsed in the 15th century. Once peace returned to the land, castles became important administrative centers around which Japan’s major cities eventually sprouted. Let us explore the history, design, and legacy of Japanese castles in more detail.   From Earthworks to Engines of War North sluice of the Iwakisan Kogoishi, by TT mk2, 2014. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The earliest fortifications in Japan, dating back to the 6th-7th centuries CE, would not be recognized as the shiro we know today. Constructed primarily from earth and wood, these early defensive structures—known as kogoishi when inspired by Korean/Chinese fortifications or chashi among the Ainu—relied primarily on the landscape rather than any masonry. However, some did feature stone walls and foundations for buildings. On the whole, though, these were temporary outposts with simple defenses; bases from which troops were dispatched and battles directed, rather than permanent strongholds. Most were abandoned once they served their purpose.   By the Nara Period (710–794), permanent fortresses began to be constructed. They were protected by “a great embankment [where water] was collected. This was called the mizuki (water fortress).” (Turnbull, p. 9) These constructions remained rudimentary yet laid the foundation for later castle architectural advancements.   During the Heian Period (794–1185), the emerging samurai class began engaging in private wars, prompting feudal lords to construct their own fortified residences. These featured simple defenses such as palisades or moats. The Kamakura Period (1185–1333) saw a further development of shiro in response to internal unrest and external threats like the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281. However, it was not until the Sengoku Period (15th–16th centuries), a time of near constant civil war, that Japanese castles started to take the form that we are familiar with nowadays.   Osaka Castle in Osaka, Japan, by Otto Domes, 2018. Source: Wikimedia Commons   During the Sengoku or Warring States period, powerful feudal lords erected thousands of strongholds all over Japan. Some estimates suggest that 30,000 to 40,000 mountaintop castles were built during this time. These strategically placed fortresses prioritized natural elevation for both visibility and defense. However, castles built on flatland also started making appearances, as did temporary siege encampments especially favored by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the second great unifier of Japan.   The development of different types of strongholds was an adaptive response to the changing nature of warfare that continued to evolve as samurai warlords kept battling for supremacy in a country without a functioning central government.   As Japanese castles became bigger and stronger, they also changed samurai battle tactics, the Sengoku Period witnessing more protracted sieges than direct assault. The arrival of firearms in Japan in 1543 also had an impact on castle architecture. Earthen walls and wooden palisades proved inadequate against musket fire, prompting the introduction of bigger stone walls, fortified stone foundations, labyrinthine layouts to confuse the enemy, and extensive moats.   Azuchi Castle, built by Oda Nobunaga, the first great unifier of Japan, is widely recognized as the country’s first modern castle with its keep and artillery-resistant granite walls. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Osaka Castle built during the 1580s is probably the pinnacle of shiro design. Its gargantuan walls, multiple moats, and a massive central keep effectively made it the Death Star of feudal Japan.   Types and Architectural Features of Japanese Castles View of Himeji Castle from Nishinomaru, by Reggaeman, 2002. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Japanese castles were not monolithic in their design. Incidentally, while these fortresses were military installations focused on defensive goals, they were not Spartan on the outside and inside. A lot of thought often went into a shiro’s aesthetics, especially the castle keep. This ultimately depended on a variety of factors, primarily the type of the castle, of which there were five:   Yamajiro: Built on mountain peaks, these castles offered advantages in visibility and natural defenses but presented logistical limitations like secure supply lines or paths to retreat.   Hirajiro: Located on flat terrain, these castles depended on moats, rivers, and swamps for defense while offering easy access to roads and farmland.   Hirayamajiro: A hybrid of mountain and flatland styles, these Japanese castles were constructed on low plain hills, combining good visibility with easy access.   Shijo: These were satellite or branch castles that supported a larger central stronghold, forming a defensive network. A feudal lord during the Sengoku period would sometimes construct a shijo between his primary base of operations and enemy fortifications in order to make it easier to stage an attack.   Jinshiro: Temporary encampments built for sieges. Notable for their flexibility and offensive utility.   Plan of Edo Castle, by Anonymous, 1608. Source: Tokyo City Library   Central to most castle structures was the system of enclosures. The honmaru was the innermost area, housing the main keep and the feudal lord’s palatial residence. A typical castle had two more outer enclosures, although Edo Castle (today the Tokyo Imperial Palace) had a total of seven. These areas had administrative, residential, and logistical functions. Each enclosure was protected by strong walls and often a moat, usually an artificial construct but sometimes utilizing natural waterways. Each enclosure additionally had its own gates and turrets.   This modular layout created multiple layers of defense, which were positioned above each other, putting attackers at a serious disadvantage of having to breach multiple fortifications while the defenders had the advantage of higher ground.   Additional defenses included intentionally complex paths full of dead-ends, blind corners, and bottlenecks leading to the main keep. But, in the end, the stone walls were a castle’s most powerful protection. These evolved from stacking unshaped rocks to create simple barriers that were relatively easy to climb until Japanese masons were able to create seamless surfaces of stone that protected the castle from infantry and artillery fire. And because—similar to Japanese wooden joinery techniques used at the Horyu-ji Temple—these stone walls relied on precise cuts and did not use mortar, they had a certain degree of earthquake resistance.   Tenshu of Nagoya Castle, by Miramimi, 2015. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Convoluted paths were not the only examples of psychological warfare used in the design of Japanese castles. Vertical and horizontal trenches dug into slopes were good for slowing down enemies, but more than anything they were meant to blunt the momentum of advancing troops. Water moats that were unexpectedly deepened in seemingly random locations served a similar purpose, as did the gates, some of which were deliberately angled to face awkward directions to further confuse attackers and expose their flanks. Other types of gates like the masugata forced attackers into enclosed spaces that quickly became kill boxes. Similar designs were also used in the fortified temples of the Ikko-Ikki Buddhist zealots.   Interestingly, the tenshukaku/tenshu main keep, possibly the most iconic part of any Japanese castle, served very few functions. It did have loopholes for archers and later riflemen but its use was primarily symbolic. The grander the main keep, the more powerful the lord of the castle looked to outsiders. Some keeps were standalone structures while others were connected to a network of buildings through corridor turrets.   Shiro turrets (yagura) were as important to a castle’s defenses as the stone walls. Positioned at corners of the enclosures or above gates, they served a number of functions. Some were for guards, others stood above wells to protect the water supply, while others served as armories. Exterior shiro walls were often finished with thick plaster (hence the iconic white appearance of so many Japanese castles) to protect against fire and projectile weapons.   Restoration and Conservation Restoration of the Fukuyama Castle main keep, by m-louis, 2020. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Japanese castles have faced numerous existential threats, starting as early as the Edo Period (1603–1868). After Tokugawa Ieyasu, the third great unifier of Japan, ended the warring states period and created the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603, his first goal was to weaken provincial feudal lords. One of the ways he went about it was the Ikkoku Ichijo Rei (Decree of One Castle per Province), which limited each domain/province to one fortification. The rest had to be destroyed.   Then in 1873, the Meiji government issued the Haijo (Castle Abolition) edict due to the belief that castles were a symbol of an old, uncivilized Japan, and the new emperor wanted the country to project a more modern image. By some estimates, two thirds of Edo-period castles were destroyed by the edict. Between that and natural disasters and bombings during World War II, the vast majority of Japanese castles did not survive. Of the hundreds that once dotted the archipelago, only twelve main keeps from before 1868 still remain. Many were rebuilt and are invaluable tools for picturing Japan’s feudal landscape, but they are far from historic structures. The current castle keep of Osaka Castle was renovated as recently as 1997 and now includes an elevator.   Hirosaki Castle Keep Tower, by Suicasmo, 2017. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The surviving castles are incredibly rare and the Japanese government has gone to impressive lengths to preserve them. In the case of Hirosaki Castle (built in 1611) in Aomori Prefecture, a centuries-old engineering technique was used to move the keep without dismantling it. The entire project, which spanned 15 years, successfully repaired the castle’s foundation and reinforced it against earthquakes. Thanks to similar efforts all around the country, Japanese castles are being preserved for posterity as symbols of majesty, resilience, and ingenuity.   Sources:   Turnbull, S. (2008). Japanese Castles AD 250–1540.

Museums Worcestershire has acquired a pair of Bronze Age weapons for the county’s collection. The spearhead and knife were discovered by a metal detectorist in June of 2021 and reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. They were later declared legal treasure under the Treasure Act, which gave the museum the opportunity to acquire the objects for the amount their assessed value. Museums Worcestershire snapped them up. The spearhead is the older of the two, dating to 1550-1250 B.C. It is five inches long with an elliptical blade with a tapering rib and two side loops on the socket. The knife dates to ca. 1000-800 B.C. It is four inches long and has a leaf-shaped blade with a mid-rib down the length. The spearhead and knife were found in relatively close proximity — about 55 feet away from each other — but may not have been buried together in a single event. They were in a layer of wet clay close to a spring or other water source. Bronze Age peoples often left artifact deposits in watery natural places (rivers, bogs, lakes, etc.), and might leave these offerings over a period of a time, so you find several objects that are clustered in one spot but were not all deposited ate once.

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Throughout American history, individual states have been the birthplace of significant national movements, shaping the nation’s social, political, and cultural landscape. These local initiatives often serve as catalysts, inspiring broader reforms and conversations that resonate across the country. By examining these state-originated movements, we gain insight into how localized actions can ripple outward, altering the ...