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is a Japanese term that refers to the walls of a Japanese castle, and the regions bounded by the arrangement of those walls. The term may also be written as 郭, and the term is also used for castles built after the Edo period. The kuruwa serves as a defensive territory, provides space for additional castle facilities, and contains the living quarters for common soldiers, making it an important fixture of all Japanese castles. Most castles built during the middle ages contain many kuruwa of small area, while those built during or after the early modern period often contain a lesser number of kuruwa of larger area. The western equivalent is the motte-and-bailey. ==Arrangement== The shape and structure of a castle were important factors in determining the victor of castle sieges, and the castle layout, or was arranged with the intention of giving the defender an insurmountable advantage. The kuruwa regions were planned for after the basic layout of the castle grounds was decided. The three basic kuruwa regions are the ; the core of the castle, and the and , which serve as auxiliary areas. There are three major styles of kuruwa arrangement: ; :The ''ninomaru'' and ''sannomaru'' surround the ''honmaru'' at the center. This arrangement increases the castle's defense in every direction, but surrounding each kuruwa requires a large area of land to be allotted to the castle grounds. Yamagata Castle is an example of a castle that uses this arrangement. ; :The ''honmaru'' and ''ninomaru'' are arranged side by side. This causes the depth of the castle to increase, but the sides and rear of the ''honmaru'' are exposed, making the castle more vulnerable to attacks on areas other than the central gate. Matsuyama Castle and Morioka Castle both use this kuruwa arrangement. ; :The ''honmaru'' is placed adjacent to the castle walls, and additional kuruwa are placed surrounding the ''honmaru''. This arrangement is suited for castles built along natural barriers like swamps, rivers, mountains, or cliffs, since the natural barrier can cover the exposed side of the ''honmaru''. Okayama Castle employs this arrangement. Many castles use a combination of the above three styles, and may fit into multiple categories of arrangement. Some castles may not be categorizable at all. Smaller kuruwa regions called and were sometimes placed around the central kuruwa in some arrangements. refers to a kuruwa that is placed independent from the central kuruwa, and refers to a kuruwa that is placed specifically to guard an important entrance. See below for more related terms. Image:rinkaku_en.png|Rinkaku style Image:renkaku_en.png|Renkaku style Image:teikaku_en.png|Teikaku style 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「kuruwa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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