Jcastle.info

Guide to Japanese Castles

Water Moats

水堀


Earlier castles were mostly mountaintop castles so they rarely had water filled moats. With the evolution of hilltop and flatland castles, water filled moats became more common. Water moats often connected with nearby wetlands, lakes, or the ocean to fill with water. During peaceful times, these waterways could also be used for commerce and transportation. Even in later day flatland castles with other water moats, the inner moats were sometimes dry moats. Dry moats are actually a stronger defense than water moats. With water moats, an attacker could hide in the water, swim across and even jump into the moat if pursued.
Water Moats
Edo Castle Nagoya Castle Matsumoto Castle Shirakawa Castle Takashima Castle
 

All Water Moats Pictures (90)

Sakasai13-t

Sakasai Castle

Edo12-t

Edo Castle

Matsushiro1-t

Matsushiro Castle

Matsushiro10-t

Matsushiro Castle

Ueda12-t

Ueda Castle

Ueda1-t

Ueda Castle

Takasaki1-t

Takasaki Castle

Takasaki2-t

Takasaki Castle

Igaueno7-t

Iga Ueno Castle

Igaueno6-t

Iga Ueno Castle

Igaueno8-t

Iga Ueno Castle

Igaueno9-t

Iga Ueno Castle

Igaueno10-t

Iga Ueno Castle

Shoryuji2-t

Shoryuji Castle

Shoryuji6-t

Shoryuji Castle

Shoryuji1-t

Shoryuji Castle

Koriyama1-t

Yamato Koriyama Castle

Koriyama3-t

Yamato Koriyama Castle

Koriyama10-t

Yamato Koriyama Castle

Koriyama11-t

Yamato Koriyama Castle

Matsumoto12-t

Matsumoto Castle

Ueda16-t

Ueda Castle

Morioka1-t

Morioka Castle

Morioka13-t

Morioka Castle

Ako5-t

Ako Castle

Ako4-t

Ako Castle

Ako7-t

Ako Castle

Ako8-t

Ako Castle

Ako3-t

Ako Castle

Ako1-t

Ako Castle

Fukui1-t

Fukui Castle

Fukui2-t

Fukui Castle

Fukui3-t

Fukui Castle

Kanazawa3-t

Kanazawa Castle

Kanazawa10-t

Kanazawa Castle

Kumamoto4-t

Kumamoto Castle

Sunpu1-t

Sunpu Castle

Matsue4-t

Matsue Castle

Tsutsuji1-t

Tsutsujigasaki Palace

Kofu1-t

Kofu Castle

Kofu5-t

Kofu Castle

Yamagata8-t

Yamagata Castle

Odawara4-t

Odawara Castle

Edo3-t

Edo Castle

Edo5-t

Edo Castle

Edo7-t

Edo Castle

Edo11-t

Edo Castle

Hikone2-t

Hikone Castle

Hikone3-t

Hikone Castle

Hikone11-t

Hikone Castle

Wakamatsu4-t

Aizu Wakamatsu Castle

Wakamatsu6-t

Aizu Wakamatsu Castle

Goryokaku1-t

Fort Goryokaku

Goryokaku3-t

Fort Goryokaku

Imabari2-t

Imabari Castle

Imabari3-t

Imabari Castle

Imabari4-t

Imabari Castle

Imabari6-t

Imabari Castle

Matsumoto1-t

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto3-t

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto4-t

Matsumoto Castle

Nagoya7-t

Nagoya Castle

Nagoya9-t

Nagoya Castle

Nagoya10-t

Nagoya Castle

Nijo4-t

Nijo Castle

Nijo6-t

Nijo Castle

Nijo7-t

Nijo Castle

Nijo8-t

Nijo Castle

Osaka4-t

Osaka Castle

Oshi3-t

Oshi Castle

Shirakawa5-t

Shirakawa Castle

Tsuchiura6-t

Tsuchiura Castle

Kishiwada3-t

Kishiwada Castle

Minakuchi1-t

Minakuchi Castle

Shimabara1-t

Shimabara Castle

Shimabara2-t

Shimabara Castle

Hiroshima2-t

Hiroshima Castle

Hiroshima6-t

Hiroshima Castle

Takamatsu3-t

Takamatsu Castle

Takamatsu4-t

Takamatsu Castle

Tottori3-t

Tottori Castle

Matsue7-t

Matsue Castle

Matsue15-t

Matsue Castle

Iwatsuki4-t

Iwatsuki Castle

Odawara2-t

Odawara Castle

Odawara3-t

Odawara Castle

Odawara5-t

Odawara Castle

Odawara14-t

Odawara Castle

Akashi12-t

Akashi Castle

Nishio7-t

Nishio Castle