About castling

You ever tell a beginner that they should castle their king, and they say, "But I don't know how to castle!"  You show them various examples of castles, you show them Hidetchi's castling videos, but they tell you it's not enough.  "Those resources don't give you step by step guides on how to make those castles."  It's actually really common to hear this complaint.  And beginners, please know that I completely understand where this is coming from, but the simple fact of the matter is that the reason nobody tells you the move order for building castles is the really common and obnoxious answer that is the answer to most shogi questions:

It depends.

 

Will it actually help you to know that these are the specific arrangements of an ideal Yagura?  I'm sure it'll help a bit.  The problem is that players who ask for specific move orders will inevitably fall for overcastling.

(position from Teruichi Aono's Better Moves for Better Shogi)

And that's no good.

Shogi is a game of balance.  You can't just defend, and you can't just attack unless your name is Souta Fujii.  Rather than learning the specific procedure for making specific castles, you should instead be looking at games featuring that castle and seeing how better players arrive at the position where the castle is completed.  

I guess what I'm saying is - your castle and your attack aren't separate formations.  They should be working in tandem, always responding to what your opponent is doing.  That's something you'll learn by playing!  So knowing the basic shape of the castle is actually enough to start trying it out.  You'll get plenty of input on your move order if you get your game reviewed by a better player.