When I first came to Japan I was quite intrigued by temples and even large houses that had walls that reminded me of Japanese castles. I later learned that surrounding some castles some buildings would have been incorporated into a defensive system, and that some temples were actually armed institutions, but mostly it was due to steep slopes requiring retaining walls.
However, Shorenji Temple in Takahashi was built as a defensive structure but masqueraded as a temple because of the laws at the time.
During the Edo Period the Tokugawa Shogunate decreed that each domain could only have one castle and that all samurai must reside in the castle town built around the castle.
Also the decrees governing repairs to castle were very strict and in most cases severely limited the daimyo in what they could do.
Shorenji Temple was re-constructed on this sitein 1657 as a defensive structure to protect the southern approach to Bitchu Matsuyama Castle, but as it was a temple they seem to have gotten away with it. It was originally founded in 815 and was located in a different area. The Kannon Hall has a ceiling and door that came from a boat used by the Lord of Okayama Castle in the invasion of Korea in 1592.
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