籠城

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 籠城 is read as ろうじょう and is a noun and する verb for barricading oneself in a castle or building, including a prolonged sit-in.
• Basic usage: Holding out inside a castle appears in 城に籠城する, while continuing a sit-in inside a building appears in 建物内で籠城を続ける.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Historical siege defense and modern sit-ins
  • It originally describes holding a castle under siege and can also refer in modern contexts to remaining inside a building as a sit-in.
• Difference from 立てこもる
  • Compared with the broad verb for holing up in a place, this word more strongly evokes sustained defense or protest.