"Layout of Inuyama Castle" Topic

Am working on the layout of my 28mm castle; got a question that I hope someone can help with. Looking at the picture from Ehon Toyotomi Gunki…you can see trees within the walls of the bailey. If you check out the modern pictures of the castle grounds, there is a full garden inside. Anybody know what the internal layout of the grounds looked like during the Sengoku period? Trying to decide between function and aesthetic; obviously a garden inside the grounds would be more impressive.

Also, does anyone know if there was a yashiki inside the walls?

Thanks in advance!

I've actually been there, twice. It's a lovely castle.

The actual donjon is, like in a lot of castles, built after the end of the Sengoku period. According to wikipedia they started building it in 1601. So there should have been plenty of room for other buildings/gardens inside the compound before that. I would use some artistic liberty if you plan to have the donjon represented during the sengoku period.

I can't find a map of the layout during the Sengoku period, but here is a map from 1740:

link

The cliff towards the river is very steep, and the position was easy to defend. It's not visible on the map, but the surrounding area is quite flat, with this lone cliff peering over the river area, so it was truly an excellent place to build a castle.

Haven't been to Inuyama, but Nijoji castle in Kyoto has a pretty big garden inside the walls.

What really jumped out at me was where the stone lanterns were placed: under the bigger trees, where a person could hide or sneak towards the inner buildings.

Appreciate the feedback. Artistic license, I think, demands gardens inside. It's just cooler looking.

Lanterns under the trees sounds good for ninja scenarios….