World Building Notes: Kikyō Castle

I've got a lot of headcanon and thoughts for various canon things. So I'm starting a new series on this blog- the World Building Notes- where I take something from canon and expand on it for story writing purposes after some google research.

I might use these thoughts in AtO or other fanfiction when I'm in need of extra details. And maybe some of my thoughts will help you in your own writing.

So first location, is the Kikyō Castle in Konoha.

In Canon, we only see this location during the Chunin Exams arc. It's where Gaara went murderous and where Hayate was killed. Here's the Wiki page for it.

My Thoughts

History

Historically, castles in Japan were fortresses. Wikipedia says that they were made from stone and wood and were used to guard strategic sites. Maybe Kikyō castle had a similar purpose in Naruto before/during the warring clan era.

Konoha was built around Kikyō castle because Hashirama had no problem building things in a short amount of time. And he wanted there to be as much space as possible for all the clans to live in Konoha. 
 

When Konoha was built, Kikyō lost it's primary purpose as a fortress because the village had expanded well beyond it's location. And Konoha never tore it down for space because it was something given to them by the Daimyo and keeping it was like a sign of respect?

Name Significance

 

The name of the castle Kikyō refers to the bellflower. The Wikipedia page says that this flower is one of the “Seven Autumn Flowers”- they bloom at the end of summer and are nice to look at. 
 

The flower symbolizes endless love, honesty and “The return of a friend is desired.” The last one makes me think of Sasuke. 
 

Most interesting tidbit I found online about the flower was that because of it's star shape, the bellflower is often used to represent the interconnected relationships between the five elements of wood, earth, fire, water and air. That seems like a very ninja-esque.

A Possible Tourist Attraction

It's old, has a lot of history and doesn't look like any of the other architecture in Konoha. Making money off of it seems more useful. 
 

Because of it's name, maybe the castle has an abundance of bell flowers growing on the property. When the flowers bloom in abundance could be peak visiting season to the castle. Might be the site of an autumn festival. 
 

It would also provide certain jobs for civilians- like renovations, gardening and care taking- and for ninja to be guards.

Location

I like the idea of Kikyō being somewhere in the centre of Konoha but also near a river for best picturesque setting. A relic of the old history from before Konoha. 
 

And since it's a tourist location, it would make sense to have it in a commercial district. If there are shops and restaurants in the general vicinity, then it keeps the tourists in that location spending money.

Architecture Notes

It has two gold ornamental tiles, that tops the roof, which are supposed to shachihoko- a carp with the head of a tiger. (But they look like plain old fish in the anime screencap). It's placed on roofs in order to protect them from fires because the creature was believed to cause rainfall.

 

Things to Think About Further

- How big is the castle?

- Does it have relics inside? Weapons, maps, paintings, etc.

- How old is the castle? Also if it was a fortress, what was it protecting before Konoha was set up?

 Would love to hear your thoughts,
Polar