Shiro (TCG)

Shiro was the Rokugani word for those castles The Price of War, by Mari Murdock housing the families of daimyō of regional or greater importance. Courts of Stone, p. 16
== Purpose ==
The samurai caste built castles from which to protect and control their lands. They were first and foremost military strongholds, but they also served as centers of government, administration, diplomacy, and civilization. Feudal governance in Rokugan was centered on castles, which served both as the symbolic seats of power for lords and as the administrative centers for those lords' rule of their lands. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, pp. 21-22 The builder of a castle chose its location based on its strategic value, commonly overlooking important trade routes or rivers or defend vital resources. Sometimes they were built in hostile territory, in order to subdue an uprising, to legitimize a claim on the land, or to otherwise exert control over the unruly area. Courts of Stone, p. 8
=== Castle's Court Chamber ===
A castle's court chamber always displayed the banners of the lord's family and clan on the wall above the dais; if the lord had a personal mon, it might be displayed as well. When guests of rank were present at the castle, their banners were hung in the court directly across the chamber from the lord's banners. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 24
== Architecture ==
The earliest castles were fortified houses, simple hilltop forts that relied upon the terrain for defense. Innovators gradually improved these structures by surrounding the central keep, called the tenshukaku, with palisades, then with solid walls, then with towers. All castles derived from the Imperial Palace, constructed under the tutelage of the Kami according to the principles of the Celestial Heavens: sloped tiles that topped walls and covered roofs; the vertical, pagoda-like structure of towers and keeps; the plaster-smooth, lightly sloped outer walls-were found in nearly all castles of Rokugan. Because the main keep of Hantei's palace was ten stories high, no other Rokugani keep had more than nine stories. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 23 Castles and their associated fortifications were among the few structures in Rokugan that made extensive use of stone in their construction, particularly in the foundations and the outer walls. Wood was often used for the upper levels and interior structure. Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 32
== Types and Typical Elements ==
Castles built in the mountains are called yamajiro, those atop hills are hirayamajiro, and those on open ground (the most common type) were called hirajiro. The heart of any castle was the keep (tenshukaku), the entire complex was surrounded and defended by the outer walls (maru), which were usually reinforced with towers (yagura), boasting barracks, dōjō, guest housing, courtyard, gardens, stables, escape tunnels and shrines. Where possible, a keep would have a well in its basement, or a cistern if no well was available, to help occupants withstand a siege. Those who had moat (mizuki), typically placed it either outside the main exterior wall or between two layers of walls as part of the complex's multilayered defense. It was common for a castle to coexist with an adjacent town (jokamichi). Emerald Empire: The Essential Guide to Rokugan, p. 32-38 Castle buildings were built atop the ishigaki, the massive stone platforms that served as foundations. 
== Rokugani Castles ==
Battle Maiden Castle 	
Castle Kuni 	"Castle of the Nation", "Castle of the Earth"
Castle of the Badger 	
Castle of the Bright Dawn	
Castle of the Cat 	
Castle of the Centipede 	
Castle of the Endless Sky	
Castle of the Forgotten 	"Fortress of the Forgotten"
Castle of the Hare 	
Castle of the Sparrow 	
Castle of the Swift Sword	
Castle of the Wasp 	"Traitor's Keep"
Closed Shell Castle 	
Crossroads Fortress 	
Fortress of the Forgotten	
Furthest Fortress 	
Gatherer of Winds Castle 	
Great Day Castle 	
Great Falls Castle 	
Haikyo sano Kappa 	"Big Stink"
Hayaken no Shiro 	"Shiro Sano ken Hayai", "Castle of the Swift Sword"
Higashino shiro no kao 	"Face of the East Castle"
High House of Light 	
Iron Mountain Castle 	
Jintou no Shiro 	
Kenson Gakka 	"Meiyo no Shiro", "Castle of Honor", "Humility's Lesson"
Khanbulak 	
Kita no Yosa 	"Northern Fortress"
Lost Traveler Castle 	
Morning Frost Castle 	
Mountain's Anvil Castle 	
Naishō Fort 	
Pale Oak Castle 	
Razor of the Dawn Castle 	
Seven Fold Palace 	
Shiro Agasha 	"Castle Agasha", "Fire Tooth Castle"
Shiro Akodo 	"Castle Akodo"
Shiro Chuda 	"Castle of the Snake"
Shiro Daidoji 	"Son of the Crane"
Shiro Gisu 	"Gisu Castle"
Shiro Hiruma 	"Hiruma Castle", "Daylight Castle"
Shiro Kaiu 	"Carpenter Castle", "Kaiu Castle"
Shiro Kandai 	
Shiro Kitsuki 	"Last Step Castle"
Shiro Mirumoto 	"Last Glance Castle"
Shiro Nishiyama 	
Shiro no Shosuro 	"Castle of Pretending", "Shosuro Palace"
Shiro no Soshi 	"Castle of Organization", "Castle Soshi"
Shiro Shiba 	"Shiba Castle", "Eye of Eternity Castle"
Shiro Shinjo 	"Far Traveler Castle", "Shinjo Castle"
Shiro Toritaka 	"Castle of the Falcon"
Shiro Yogasha 	"Castle of the Emerald Champion", "Palace of the Emerald Champion"
Shiro Yogo 	"Castle of Learning"
Shiro Zurui 	
Son of the Crane 	"Daidoji Castle"
Songbird's Cage 	
Yōjin no Shiro 	"Castle of Vigilance"
== Castles in other Spirit Realms ==
Tōshigoku Castle 	"Keep of Ten Thousand Bones"
Fortress of Fu Leng	"Fu Leng's Fortress"
Category:Populated Areas (TCG)
Category:Rokugani Language (TCG)