Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle is a massive hilltop castle complex located in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.

It is widely considered the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture. The complex consists of a network of 83 different structures. These include gates, corridors, turrets, and storehouses. Because of its brilliant white exterior, people often call it Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō. This translates to "White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle." The name describes how the white walls resemble a large bird taking flight.

The castle functions as a highly advanced defensive system from the feudal period. One primary method of defense is a confusing maze of paths. These paths are organized to lead attackers in a spiral pattern around the complex. This makes it difficult for an approaching force to reach the center. The walls also feature roughly 1,000 small openings called loopholes. These are shaped like circles, triangles, squares, or rectangles. Defenders used these to fire arrows or tanegashima, which are matchlock guns, without exposing themselves.

Other defensive mechanisms include angled chutes known as ishi-otoshi. These chutes are located at various points in the castle walls. They allowed defenders to pour boiling oil or drop stones on attackers below. The castle also uses water for protection through its moats. The complex originally included three moats, though the outer moat is now buried. The inner moats can reach a maximum width of 40 meters and a depth of 6 meters. These moats also served as a water supply for fire prevention.

The history of the site began in 1333 during the Genkō War. Akamatsu Norimura built the first fort on Himeyama hill. In 1346, his son Sadanori rebuilt it as Himeyama Castle. The site was later remodeled into Himeji Castle by the Kuroda clan by 1561. In 1581, Toyotomi Hideyoshi expanded the site by adding a three-story keep. Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu gave the castle to Ikeda Terumasa.

Ikeda Terumasa began a massive reconstruction project from 1601 to 1609. He demolished the previous three-story keep to build the current large complex. This expansion required an estimated 2.5 million man-days of labor. Later, from 1617 to 1618, Honda Tadamasa added more buildings. One notable addition was the keshō yagura, or Dressing Tower, built for his daughter-in-law.

The central structure is the tenshu, or main keep. While it looks like it has five floors, it actually has six floors and a basement. The first floor is a massive space called the "thousand-mat room" because it contains over 330 tatami mats. The basement includes unique features like a kitchen corridor and a drain board. The third and fourth floors contain platforms called harimayagura. These allowed defenders to observe attackers through the windows. The sixth floor provides a wide, unobstructed view of the surrounding area.

Himeji Castle is famous for its incredible resilience. It has remained intact for almost 700 years. The castle survived the heavy bombing of Himeji during World War II in 1945. One firebomb even landed on the top floor but failed to explode. It also survived the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995. The structure proved so stable that a bottle of sake remained upright on an altar.

Today, the castle holds immense historical and cultural significance. It was registered as one of Japan's first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1993. Five of its structures are designated as National Treasures. It is the largest and most visited castle in Japan. In 2015, it welcomed over 2,860,000 visitors. Recent restoration work helped remove decades of grime. This returned the roof to its original, brilliant white color.