Paper Castles

Shadow paper castles

Fudebakudo p.45, “Kagegamijo”

Readers of Fudebakudo already know about the forgotten art of making kagegamijo — “shadow paper castles”, by which samurai would rapidly fold decoy paper castles to mislead advancing enemy armies into laying siege to the wrong one.

Well, perhaps it’s not quite so forgotten. Wataru Itou, a Japanese artist, has produced Castle on the Ocean. It’s impressive in terms of execution, and the addition of Ferris wheel and rollercoaster is a great idea — what besieger could resist the lure of all the fun of the fair? Sadly, it’s not 1:1 scale, but it’s a start.

Via BoingBoing.