is the Japanese word for "tower", "turret", "keep", or "scaffold". The word is most often seen in reference to structures in

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 ...

compounds but can be used in other situations as well. The

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

tower erected for

Bon Festival or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

is often called a ''yagura'', as are similar structures used in other festivals. ''Yagura-daiko'' (''

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

'' drumming from atop a ''yagura'') is a traditional part of professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

competitions.Official Grand Sumo homepage

Etymology

There were signs that the first written form of kanji was (櫓) during ancient periods, simply being a character representing a tower before being changed to (矢倉) – in which the former replaced the latter once again. The term originally derives from the use of fortress towers as high/tall or arrow (矢, ''ya'') storehouses (倉, ''kura''), and was thus originally written as 矢倉. The term was used for a collection of towers. Today, modern towers such as skyscrapers or communications towers are almost exclusively referred to or named using the English-derived word ''tawā'' (タワー) and not ''yagura''.

Castle towers

Castle towers varied widely in shape, size, and purpose. Many served as watchtowers, guardtowers, and for similar military purposes. Arrows were often stored there, with other equipment. As castles served as the luxurious homes of Japan's feudal lords (the

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

), it was not uncommon for a castle to have an astronomy tower or a tower that provided a good vantage point for enjoying the natural beauty of the scenery. Japan has rarely feared invasion or maintained border forts. However, it is likely that guardtowers or watchtowers would have been kept, outside of larger castle compounds, at times and places throughout its history.

References

Literature

* *Turnbull, Stephen (2003). ''Japanese Castles 1540-1640''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. * {{Japanese architectural elements Castles in Japan Towers in Japan Japanese words and phrases