The throne and where it leads

Article posted on Thursday, April, 22nd, 2010 at 5:54 pm

The plumbing of Japanese castles isn’t exactly a commonly talked about topic. Given that there are a great many and more agreeable things to talk about, this probably comes as no surprise. If you keep reading, perhaps you’ll come to agree that there are points worthy of your interest & discussion.

Lifting the lid
On a recent visit to Kokura castle I was somewhat surprised to see a traditional squater on display. Some people refer to this type as the bobsled. It features a “T” handle to keep your balance in the event of the big one striking or even an earthquake. There is also a lid (which I presume was left up.)

Well, perhaps the lid wasn’t left up. A gaping hole in the floor is a potentially dangerous thing. It’s not that hard to imagine a drunken samurai putting his foot through or even losing hold of his mobile phone or keys down there.

Dark brown bowls
… could be used to describe Bizen-yaki, a popular regional style of pottery. But this wouldn’t be a fair description because they’ve also produced vases, cups and even, would you believe, the toilet bowls of Japan’s most celebrated castle, that of Himeji. The waste was delivered courtesy of gravity where it decelerated rapidly about a foot (300mm) from one’s bottom, even less if no-one got around to emptying it.