Toothpick Castle

     

I won’t say which castle it is, but with its distinctive, if exaggerated shape, I wonder if you can’t figure it out for yourselves. Would you like to take a guess at the name of the castle?

Someone has gone to a great deal of effort here. And, just to save you the guess work I did a bit of googling. Over the course of a year, about 150,000 toothpicks were assembled into this oddly proportioned Tenshu. I’m hoping they were unused toothpicks but I’d be impressed either way.

Atop the steeply-sloping stonework sits a five-layered, wooden donjon. Topping the tower is the immense & overhanging top floor. There is also a smaller tower attached by a single-story hallway.

My googling revealed quite a bit of toothpick modeling happening around the world with many of the world’s landmarks having been constructed. I had no idea such a hobby existed. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but those toothpicks that come with the disposable chopsticks really are starting to pile up.

  • http://japandave.com David LaSpina

    I get impatient putting together model kits; the thought of making a castle from toothpicks doesn’t really excite me much. Still, it’s very impressive.

    Offhand, it looks like something I’ve seen in a Miyazaki movie.

  • admin

    I agree, it impresses but I am in no way tempted to give it a go. Growing up I enjoyed making models, still do when not insanely busy. That’s why I’m a little surprised that I’ve not made any Japanese castle models. I’ve seen them at the shops, the prices are reasonable, I could even get it for free because I’ve accumulated enough points on the store’s card. But, given the choice, a ’69 Camaro or Azuchi castle, Azuchi is going to stay in the ruined state that the real one has been in for the last 400+ years.

    Could you recognise the castle?

  • http://japandave.com David LaSpina

    The idea of models has always interested me. When I visit real Japanese castle, I spend a long time gazing at the castle model that seems to always be there. My favorites are the ones that include the entire castle area. The model at Inuyama (I think… if memory serves.. but it might have been somewhere else) includes most of the town, showing where each gate was leading deeper and deeper into the heart of the castle grounds. I probably spend 30 minutes looking it over. I would have spend even more if my wife hadn’t pulled me away. I would absolutely love to have any of these models at my house. But I just have no patience to put them together myself.

    The toothpick castle does look slightly familiar, but I admit, I have no idea what castle it is.

  • http://www.poolofzen.com コルーズ・真秀

    Well, I have no idea on what Castle it is. Even though it looks like the Castle from the movie about Oda Nobunaga that was built East of Osaka… (I forget what it is called.)

    I can’t even handle sitting still long enough to do a children’s puzzle let alone a toothpick castle… Who the heck has the time?

    See ya round!

    M

  • admin

    Okay guys, I’ll put you all out of your collective miseries. Kokura castle desu.

    Matt, I think you are refering to Azuchi castle, and I can see what you mean. There was that odd shaped top floor. Maybe it had eight sides.