The medieval Japanese when holding a castle under siege could dig to try to get in. They could also dig tunnels under the castle walls to undermine them, although the objective for the besiegers was usually to get the castle intact for their personal gain. There was no way for the defenders to stop them digging.
Defence
When defending against digging, one of the ways to locate tunnels was to pour water all over the ground to see where it sinks into the ground fastest, although the defenders were often short of water so this wasn't used very often. When the tunnel came up you could pour anything down it, but as I just said they may not want to use much water.
The bowmen were a key part of a castle's defence, because they could shoot at the enemy from high on the walls and successfully reduce the numbers of attackers.
Castles
A floor plan of Himeji Castle shows a moat, which is double in one area, to defend against enemies. Inside the moat there are a series of compounds, which would be individually defensible if the outer compound fell. The Donjon compound, at one end of the castle, was protected by two moats and surrounded by other compounds. This looks as though it should be the last place to fall.
Siege weapons
Generally Japanese people did not go in for big walled towns, just castles, so big siege weapons like catapults and trebuchets were not used a lot.
Digging
The medieval Japanese when holding a castle under siege could dig to try to get in. They could also dig tunnels under the castle walls to undermine them, although the objective for the besiegers was usually to get the castle intact for their personal gain. There was no way for the defenders to stop them digging.Defence
When defending against digging, one of the ways to locate tunnels was to pour water all over the ground to see where it sinks into the ground fastest, although the defenders were often short of water so this wasn't used very often. When the tunnel came up you could pour anything down it, but as I just said they may not want to use much water.The bowmen were a key part of a castle's defence, because they could shoot at the enemy from high on the walls and successfully reduce the numbers of attackers.
Castles
A floor plan of Himeji Castle shows a moat, which is double in one area, to defend against enemies. Inside the moat there are a series of compounds, which would be individually defensible if the outer compound fell. The Donjon compound, at one end of the castle, was protected by two moats and surrounded by other compounds. This looks as though it should be the last place to fall.Siege weapons
Generally Japanese people did not go in for big walled towns, just castles, so big siege weapons like catapults and trebuchets were not used a lot.Bibliography
www.redstonesproject.com/trebuchetstore/siege_engine_books.htmlwww.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/japan/War/War_warfare_weapons.html