<P> This period saw the climax of earlier developments towards larger buildings, more complex and concentrated construction, and more elaborate design, both externally and in the castles' interiors . European castle design began to have an impact as well in this period, though the castle had long been in decline in Europe by this point . </P> <P> In Japanese politics and warfare, the castle served not only as a fortress, but as the residence of the daimyō (feudal lord), and as a symbol of his power . Fushimi Castle, which was meant to serve as a luxurious retirement home for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, serves as a popular example of this development . Though it resembled other castles of the period on the outside, the inside was lavishly decorated, and the castle is famous for having a tea room covered in gold leaf . Fushimi was by no means an exception, and many castles bore varying amounts of golden ornamentation on their exteriors . Osaka castle was only one of a number of castles that boasted golden roof tiles, and sculptures of fish, cranes, and tigers . Certainly, outside of such displays of precious metals, the overall aesthetics of the architecture and interiors remained very important, as they do in most aspects of Japanese culture . </P> <P> Some especially powerful families controlled not one, but a whole string of castles, consisting of a main castle (honjō) and a number of satellite castles (shijō) spread throughout their territory . Though the shijō were sometimes full - fledged castles with stone bases, they were more frequently fortresses of wood and earthenworks . Often, a system of fire beacons, drums, or conch shells was set up to enable communications between these castles over a great distance . The Hōjō family's Odawara Castle and its network of satellites was one of the most powerful examples of this honjō - shijō system; the Hōjō controlled so much land that a hierarchy of sub-satellite networks was created </P> <P> Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea took place between 1592 and 1598, at the same time as the high point in Azuchi--Momoyama style castle construction within Japan . Many Japanese castles (called Wajō 倭 城 in Japanese and Waeseong in Korean) were built along the southern shores of Korea . All that remains of these castles today are the stone bases . </P>

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