ABSTRACT
One of the most enduring images of Japan during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries is probably that of its prodigious castles. These forbidding stone fortresses with high ramparts and soaring towers, served as regional nerve centers where provincial warlords built their headquarters and based their armies. During this time of protracted civil strife, would-be rulers vied for power, capturing, destroying, and rebuilding various fortresses throughout the countryside. Castles were not merely a backdrop to events but indeed a component in the shaping of history. Without question, these architectural marvels command a significant profile in the history of Japan's long age of civil war.
