Abstract
The uchizange was not only a part of a castle but also the innermost part of the castle-town, where important class of samurai had their residences. The traces of residences in a castle are found in ancient cities. But the uchizange of a castl-town originated in the settlements of powerful families in the middle ages.
The uchizange can be classified, according to the type of the castle to which it belonged into three types: (1) the hirajo (a castle in a plain) type, (2) the hirayamajo (a castle on the hillock in a plain), and (3) the yamajo (a mountain castle) type. Its best development is observed especially in the hirayamajo type.
From the viewpoint of its function and structure, the uchizange followed the following development;
The first stage (during the former period of the middle age)…… the uchizange as the management center of the load of manor.
The second stage (during the latter period of the middle age)……the uchizange as the political and military center.
The third stage (during the modern age)…… the uchizange which formed one part of the samurai quarters in a castle-town.
Each stage mentioned above also shows the process of the development and repletion of a castle-town.
The uchizange of the first stage was a product of the earliest castle-town and that of the second was the samurai settlement in the early castle-town, the last being one part of the samurai quarters in the modern castle-town.
In the uchizange of the last stage were important offices as well as residences of chief vassals. It was the uchizange that played the most important part in the samurai quarters.
