Himeji Castle is registered as a national treasure and also as a World Cultural Heritage among many Japanese castles. The castle is very popular for not only its beautiful white castle tower, but also historical anecdotes and mysterious legends pased down to this day.
Of the 12 castles in Japan with old castle towers, five are designated as national treasures. Himeji Castle is one of such 5 National Treasures. Because of its beautiful white appearance, it is also known as "Shirasagi (white bird) Castle". If you visit Himeji Castle after knowing many anecdotes, you can see not only the beauty but also the attractiveness of the castle.
Many castle owners have protected Himeji Castle
Speaking of general Japanese castles, "the name of the castle" and "the name of the house that became the castle owner" are known together. However, even though Himeji Castle is very famous for its castle name, it is not currently known who was the castle owner. That should be it. Himeji Castle is not a castle that was ruled by a certain family, but has been changed its owner many times.
Since the fort was built in Himeyama in 1333, 13 houses and 48 persons have served as castle owners such as Akamatsu, Yamana, Kuroda, Hashiba and Ikeda, Honda, Matsudaira, Sakakibara, and Sakai family, until the Sakai family returned the registration to the country.
At present, we can see the appearance of Himeji Castle constructed after the major renovation by Mr. Ikeda who ruled the castle after the battle of Sekigahara, so there is not much of the appearance before Mr. Ikeda in the castle. However, the base foundation created during Hashiba's time has not changed and it still remains.
If you are interested in seeing stone wall, you can see how the pile of stones have changed during the Hashiba era, Ikeda era and Honda era and you can feel the transition of the castle.
Until Himeji Castle becomes a beautiful white castle
It is said that Himeji Castle began in 1333 when it was built by Akamatsu Norimura (Enshin) to help Emperor Godaigo who raided against the Kamakura Shogunate. At this time, it was not a castle building, but later, Norimura's son, Sadanori Akamatsu, built a full-fledged castle in Mt. Himeyama. This is the first castle built and at that time, the name was Himeyama Castle, not Himeji Castle.
At that time, it was said that the building was not like it is now, just like a house. Then, successive castle owners repeatedly expanded and renovated, and Himeji Castle became the current form.
Among the many renovations, the major renovation done by Hideyoshi Hashiba created a three-story castle tower. It was around this time that the name "Himeyama Castle" changed to "Himeji Castle".Then after the battle of Sekigahara, the castle was renovated by Terumasa Ikeda who made walls and roofs completely white, to be called Shirasagi Castle.
Why is it called Shirasagi Castle?
Himeji Castle, built by Terumasa Ikeda, is made with the method of "Shiro-shikkui Sounurigome zukuri" (making all white plaster), and in addition to being able to paint the outer walls with white plaster, the roof tile joints are also used white plaster. The appearance of the white castle towers seemed to be like a white egret spreading its wings, so it was named "Shirasagi Castle".
In addition, there are various stories that says there were lot of egrets lived around the castle or it was to contrast with Okayama Castle, which has the black walls and is called "Karazu (crow)-castle".
Until that time, castles were generally built using black. Nevertheless, the whilte castle was built because Terumasa had foreseen the end of the War Period and thought that "threatening by beauty" was necessary instead of "rule by military". The dazzling white color that Terumasa was particular concerned about was an important factor in expressing the dignity of the castle by its beauty.
Japan's first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage
The beautiful "Shirasagi Castle" built by Terumasa Ikeda has undergone many repairs and remains current world. The castle tower was designated as a national treasure in 1931 and was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1993, together with Horyuji, where were the first building in Japan to be registered as a World Cultural Heritage.
The reason for the registration is that "the aesthetic perfection is the highest among the wooden constructions in the country, and it is as excellent as any other in the world" "The largest surviving castle building in the early 17th century "They are not only well-maintained, but also the towers, fences, gates, stone walls, moats and other civil engineering works are kept in very good preservation conditions.
Himeji Castle has great historical anecdotes
One of the reasons why Himeji Castle is loved by many people is
that it is a castle with a lot of narratives that has many historical anecdotes.
A miracle-connected castle
Himeji Castle has the common name of Shirasagi Castle, and also has the name of
"No-Fights Castle". Since the castle was built, it has been rarely involved
in wars, so this name was given. The castle kept the good preservation because no damages were made at war.
One of the few wars that involved Himeji Castle was World War II.
At that time, a U.S. military air raid took place in Himeji city.
An incendiary bomb was dropped on the castle, and the castle was in danger of burning.
However, the incendiary bomb that fell on the castle was unexploded.
While most of the buildings in Himeji City were burned by air raids, only the castle tower at Himeji Castle did not burn.
There are lots of mysterious spots: "Legend remaining in Himeji Castle"
Among the various buildings and facilities inside Himeji Castle, there are some popular spots where strange stories remain.
Let's introduce some legends related to Himeji Castle
Okiku Well of Banshu Sarayashiki
The "Ogiku Well" in the square called Kamiyama Satomaru in Himeji Castle is said to be a well that appeared in the story of the
famous "Banshu Sarayashiki".
"Banshu Sarayashiki" is a very famous ghost story that was popular in the late Edo period and has been handed down in modern times.
During the Muromachi period, a man named Tetsuzan planned to poison the castle owner and take over Himeji Castle.
The lord of the castle, Motonobu Kinugasa, who sensed the unrest of Tetsuzan, sent his mistress, Okiku, under Tetsuzan as a maid
to spy on him. However, the espionage activity ends up in a Tetsuzan's servant.
The servant was repeatedly told, "Be my mistress, instead of keeping spy activity secret," but Okiku refused.
The angry servant hid one of the ten heirloom plates that Okiku had been ordered to keep, and rubbed his sins on Okiku and killed her. It was thrown into an old well.
Since then, it has been said that every night at the bottom of the well, you can hear a voice counting the plates with sobbing,
"One, two, three ..." It is said that the well into which Okiku was thrown is Himeji Castle's Okiku well.
Miyamoto Musashi exterminates a monster living in the castle tower
The castle tower of Himeji Castle contains the story of Musashi Miyamoto's legends.
That's the story of the time when Kinoshita Ieyada was the lord of Himeji Castle. Miyamoto Musashi who stopped by at Himeji
changed his name and hid his identity, and served as a guardian of the castle.
At that time, there was a rumor that "a monster appeared on the castle tower" other survants were reluctant to go cheking,
only Musashi did not mind the rumor and continued to watch the night without hesitation.
Musashi was ordered to kill the monster, and heads to the top floor of the castle tower,
Without fear of the mysterious phenomena that occur frequently, Musashi kept his turn to defeat the monster until dawn.
In front of such a Musashi, a beautiful princess, the guardian god of Himeji Castle, appeared and
said she would reward him for extermination of moster and disappeared.
It is said that there was a famous sword in a white wooden box.
Himeji Castle was "the impregnable and strongest fortress"
Himeji Castle was far from the war, but the castle was constracuted as a very good fortress.
If you go around the castle by checking the tricks while sightseeing, you will find another face of Himeji Castle that is not only beautiful.
The real role of white stucco
The outer wall of the castle tower at Himeji Castle is made of a structure made of wood
and bamboo and framed with mud and plastered on it. An architectural technique that increases
the fire resistance of the walls themselves by applying plaster with excellent fire protection
and fire resistance on wood.
This technique was originally used for walls of warehouses.
It is said that Terumasa used this technique mainly in preparation for being attacked by gunshots.
White stucco, which is conscious of "threatening by beauty," is a technique that also has practicality.
Moat protecting Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle had an inner moat and an outer moat to protect the center of the castle.
The moat has a maximum width of 34.5m (average width is about 20m) and a depth of about 2.7m, making it impossible to walk.
You have to cross the bridge over the moat to enter the castle.
During the war, if the enemy tried to enter the castle, just break the bridge and makes it difficult for the enemy
to enter the castle.
Currently, the outer moat is almost completely buried, but the inner moat is still preserved,
and you can see how it is big.
Himeji Castle was made really complicated in case an enemy invaded.
There are a lot of mansions and gates on the premises, and the path made to pass between them was a maze-like structure that confused the enemy.
In addition, there are a lot of tricks such as "You can see the castle tower just in front of you but you cannot go forward without making a detour".
Currently, the 21 gates remains and each of which has been devised for war to protect the castle.
For exaple, a extremely narrow gate can pass only one enemy and another have a two-story gate to gain time when attacked.
In addition, many gates were structured to be buried to block the road in case of emergency.
By paying attention to the various mechanisms on the roads and gates, you can see how Himeji Castle was a great fortress.
"Useful sightseeing information" of Himeji Castle
Here is some sightseeing information about Himeji Castle, such superb view spots where you can take outstanding photos
and congested situations to enjoy Himeji Castle more.
Check the congestion status on the site
You can check the congestion status of Himeji Castle on the site called "World Cultural Heritage, National
Treasure Himeji Castle Handbook". On this site, the congestion status is updated from
time to time, and the waiting time of the entrance are displayed almost in real time
Not only that, but you can also check monthly and annual congestion forecasts here,
so you can use them as a reference when planning your trip.
Explain the history of Himeji Castle with the latest technology
In fact, Himeji Castle has an official app that you can download on your smartphone.
This app called "Himeji Castle Great Discovery App" is an app that allows you to go around the castle while studying the history of Himeji Castle using AR (Augmented Reality).
When you hold your smartphone following the instructions of the application over the mark marked "AR" in some spots in Himeji Castle,
commentary by animation appears on the smartphone screen.
You can see the CG of reconstructed buildings that has disappeared now and the videos that reproduce the lifestyle at that time, so you can know how people at that time were living.
Beautiful picture spots of Himeji Castle
On the site of the large Himeji Castle, there is a superb view spot where you can take pictures of the white plastered castle
more beautifully.
Above all, there are three popular places where you can shoot a unique castle tower.
①Mikunibori (a large pond-like moat close to the entrance)・・・This is a popular place where you can take a picture of the castle tower, the castle fence surrounding it, and even Mikuni moat at once.
Depending on the weather, if you are lucky, the moat will look like a mirror, and you can capture the upside-down tower reflected on the water surface together.
②Nishi-no-Maru Square (near Mikunibori)・・・a great place to overlook the dignified pine trees and the castle tower behind it.
③Bizen Maru (near the center of the castle)・・・a plaza located right above the castle tower of Himeji Castle, so you can shoot a powerful castle towering against the blue sky without any objects.
Of course, this is not the only places. Trying to find a best place where you can take your own favorite photo!
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