also: さんじょう
mountain castle
A castle built on a mountain, utilizing natural terrain for defense. Contrasts with 平城 (ひらじろ), a castle built on flat land.
See also: 平城
Many mountain castles were built during the Warring States period.
This mountain castle uses steep slopes to strengthen its defenses.
During the Warring States period, many warlords built mountain castles with excellent defenses.
Surrounded by the enemy army, the soldiers holed up in the mountain castle.
山城 (mountain castle) can be confused with 平城 read as へいじょう, which refers to Heijō-kyō, the ancient capital located in present-day Nara, not a type of castle.
山城 (やましろ) is the historical province name in Kyoto, while the same kanji read やまじろ means 'mountain castle', a fortification built on high ground.
place; point; part; spot; area; passage; portion · counter for places, parts, passages, etc.
hill castle in the plains; flatland-mountain castle
Standard kanji spelling for a castle built on a mountain.
Alternate reading, less common than やまじろ. May appear in historical or specialized contexts.
Compound of 山 (やま, 'mountain') and 城 (しろ, 'castle'). The reading さんじょう is the on'yomi version.