Shiro Kandai rests high on the slopes over Jukami Bay, on the sharp northern promontory above Jukami Mura, the Port That Never Sleeps. There, it overlooks the water as though admiring its reflection. Designed to evoke the eagerness of youth, it once stood proud and handsome; yet, while it is still quite young for a Rokugani castle, its towers have begun to show their age; the lacquer is decaying in the sun, and sparrows have nested in the gables. Still, as its outer brilliance has faded, its inner brilliance continued to reveal itself. Shiro Kandai’s form and function are one; each decorative element is a functional one. The towers may grant moon gazers unrivaled height and grandness, but they also afford Crane naval strategists a panoramic view of the bay and the sea.
Some Crane Clan design ideals persist within the castle complex. While the tenshukaku appears to contain five stories, it is in fact built with a six-story frame, and the complex spaces between floors add up to eight or nine separate levels, knitted together with intricate networks of staircases. Many corridors in the tenshukaku and other buildings feature nightingale floors, which chirp and creak as they are stepped on. The paper windows of Shiro Kandai are coated with oil, which protects against rain and allows a wealth of sunlight indoors. The castle grounds feature an impressive garden in an interior courtyard, with carefully tended flowers, bushes, and trees imported from across Crane lands.