Death and Rebirth of Castles

Most of Japan was united under the Shogun by the early 1600's, making the daimyos and their fortified castles increasingly irrelevant. Once abandoned, these castles gradually fell into disrepair. With the rise of more powerful monarchs in Europe, the old feudal system and the need for castes waned as well. From the ultimate military defensive technology of the 1200's, they had grown obsolete. Not only did the strength and numbers of large standing armies make it near impossible to resist a siege, but the monarchs were bringing to an end many of the conflicts between local lords that had made castles so necessary in earlier times.

Nevertheless, castles were still being constructed through the 1500's in various parts of Europe, especially in Italy, which was comprised of many small nation states engaged in constant warfare. By this time, gunpowder had really come onto the scene in Europe, and many castles from this era were designed to incorporate this new technology. Gunports were built into walls and hoardings, and many walls were built lower than in the past, to allow for cannons to be mounted on top at a better height to fire upon attacking troops.

With the feudal system drawing to a close, the nobility lost interest in defense and warfare in general, instead immersing themselves more and more in luxury and comfort. From their damp and dreary castles, they moved en masse to their new country manors and estates, built with an eye for luxury and opulence. Less often, a wealthy lord might remodel their ancestral castle to serve more modern living standards. It wasn't until the romanticism of the 1800's that castles began to be widely viewed in the fairy-tale light we tend to associate them. At this point, most medieval castles were in ruins, and the process of mass restoration began in earnest. Also at this time, the elites began to build imitation castles more in line with notions of fantasy and romance than any kind of historical basis. A good example of this is the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, built in the Bavarian Alps in the late 1800's by King Ludwig II.