Ishi-Otoshi

Revealing the truth about Samurai Castle Stone Dropping Chutes.

Most samurai castles feature a lower section of tenshu keep, yagura turret, tamon yagura being a long corridor like turret, or wall, often a corner or at strategically located point, that extends out over the plane of the ishigaki stone walls. These small, downward facing openings of around 24cm on average are of timber frame construction like the rest of the castle structure, and are now often known as ishi-otoshi, literally stone dropping chutes.  Said to be similar in form and function to the machicolations of European castle tradition, and like their European counterparts, ishi-otoshi were supposedly used for dropping rocks on the enemy as they attempted to climb the stone walls below.