Hanayui no Shou 16-1EB

Encouragement of castle touring - 1

[Marugame castle]

Sek: Whoaaa, this is great! Nothing beats seeing the real thing.

Sek: So this is the tallest wall in Japan. It certainly deserves being called the "Folding fan slope".

Tou: I can understand why they wanted to conceal this place when the order to dismantle the castle was issued.

Sum: Definitely. From a castle-lover's standpoint, the "one domain - one castle" edict was truly evil. [1]

Sek: Nya-nyah!? Were those voices...

Tou/Sum: Eh?

Sek: Ah, knew it.

Tou: Sekka. What a coincidence.

Sum: What are you doing here?

Sek: Well, you know. It's our day off, so I felt like going for a walk.

Tou: Ah, you did mention you liked castles back when you introduced yourself.

Sum: So you're here for a tour of the Marugame castle?

Sek: Huh, you remembered that... Basically, yeah. I wanted to see the castles of Shikoku with my own eyes at least once.

Sek: But I couldn't find time for that until today.

Tou: I see. Historical heritage is mine and Sumi-chan's hobby, so we came here for a tour today.

Sek: Yeah, I can more or less piece that together.

Sum: Sekka-san, so what do you think of the Marugame castle?

Sek: It's a wonderful castle! The three-stage concentric construction is stellar! [2]

Sek: The contrast between the granite of the walls and the white plaster of the buildings brings joy to the eye!

Sek: If only I could get inside and experience the spiral shape myself. But too bad. [2]

Sum/Tou: Aaah...

Sek: Huh? What's the matter?

Sum: Nothing, it was just a little surprising to hear you talk about something so passionately, Sekka-san.

Tou: You must really love castles.

Sek: Ah... Jeez, this is kind of embarrassing.

Tou: There's nothing to be embarrassed of!

Sum: That's right. If it's okay with you, I'd like to hear more!

Sek: Ahaha, what will I ever do.

===
Notes:
1 - An edict issued in 1615 by the Edo shogunate which ordered to dismantle all castles except for the daimyo's main castle.
2 - The layout of the Marugame castle is three concentric wards, with the path leading to the castle keep being a counterclockwise spiral.
http://www.marugame-castle.jp/themes/main/about/map/images/img_spotmap.png