Himeji – Japan Most Beautiful Castle
This striking white edifice is generally considered the most beautiful of Japan’s castles and is one of the few that has escaped the ravages of civil war, earthquakes and firebombing. Most notably, the castle miraculously survived World War II virtually unscathed, despite the rest of the city having been levelled by American carpet bombing.
The castle was designated as a national treasure in 1931 and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. It is virtually the last castle in Japan that still manages to tower over the surrounding skyscrapers and office buildings.
Himeji Castle – the Most Beautiful of Japan’s Castles
Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in Himeji, a small city at the western edge of the Kansai region of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-j? -”White Egret Castle” or Shirasagi-j? – “White Heron Castle”, because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight. At one point in the late 1500′s, it was the biggest castle in all of Asia.
Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan. The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures. Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan’s three premier castles.
Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex. Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618. For over 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.
Himeji Castle Design details
Himeji Castle is the largest castle in Japan. It serves as an excellent example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, containing many of the defensive and architectural features associated with Japanese castles. The curved walls of Himeji Castle are sometimes said to resemble giant fans, but the principle materials used in the structures are stone and wood. Feudal family crests are installed throughout the architecture of the building, signifying the various lords that inhabited the castle throughout its history.
The Himeji Castle complex is located in the center of Himeji, Hy?go on top of a hill called Himeyama, which is 45.6m (150ft) above sea level. The castle complex comprises a network of 83 buildings such as storehouses, gates, corridors, and turrets. Of these 83 buildings, 74 are designated as Important Cultural Assets: 11 corridors, 16 turrets, 15 gates, and 32 earthen walls. The highest walls in the castle complex have a height of 26m (85ft). Joining the castle complex is Koko-en Garden, a Japanese garden created in 1992 to commemorate Himeji city’s 100th anniversary.
From east to west, the Himeji Castle complex has a length of 950 to 1,600m (3,117 to 5,249ft), and from north to south, it has a length of 900 to 1,700m (2,953 to 5,577ft). The castle complex has a circumference of 4,200m (2.53mi). It covers an area of 233 hectares (2,330,000m2 or 576 acres), making it roughly 50 times as large as the Tokyo Dome or 60 times as large as Koshien Stadium.
The castle has been featured extensively in foreign and Japanese films, including the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice” (1967), and Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985). The city has been featured in a series of Japanese and foreign films due to its picturesque old-Japan look. The information office at the JR station has props from some of these films including, for example, props from the film Last Samurai.
Himeji Castle Legends
Himeji Castle is associated with a number of local lore. According to the legend, Okiku was falsely accused of losing dishes that were valuable family treasures, and then killed and thrown into the well. Her ghost remained to haunt the well at night, counting dishes in a despondent tone.
The legend of the “Old Widow’s Stone” is another folklore story associated with the castle. According to the legend, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ran out of stones when building the original three-story castle keep, and an old woman heard about his trouble. She gave him her hand millstone even though she needed it for her trade. It was said that people who heard the story were inspired and also offered stones to Hideyoshi, speeding up construction of the castle. To this day, the supposed stone can be seen covered with a wire net in the middle of one of the stone walls in the castle complex.
A folklore story is also associated with Genbei Sakurai, who was Ikeda Terumasa’s master carpenter in the construction of the castle keep. According to the legend, Sakurai was dissatisfied with his construction, feeling that the keep leaned a little to the southeast. Eventually, he became distraught and climbed to the top of the keep, where he jumped to his death with a chisel in his mouth.
Visiting Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle is particularly striking (and crowded) in cherry blossom season in April, when all the trees planted in and around the castle burst into white splendor.
Himeji Castle is open 9 AM to 5 PM daily (admission is only until 4 PM) or until 6 PM (admission is until 5 PM) from June until August. The castle is closed between December 29-31.
In order to preserve the castle buildings, it is currently undergoing restoration work that is expected to continue for several years. Himeji Castle is currently undergoing renovation until spring 2015. It will stay open throughout, but parts may be off-limits and a large tent-like structure is covering the entire main building of castle. For an additional 200 yen on top of the 300 yen entry fee, you can take an elevator to the top of the main keep to see the work in progress. A series of other parts of the castle complex have been opened up to compensate including some that are generally not open to the public. Although the image of the castle towering over the city is a key reason many people visit Himeji, the covered-up castle is still worth a visit.
Getting to Himeji Castle by Train
Himeji is along the Sanyo shinkansen line from Osaka and Kobe to Okayama and Hiroshima. The Hikari Rail Star offers frequent service to Himeji within the Sanyo region, as do the all-stopping Kodama trains. As the station is raised it is possible to see Himeji Castle from a passing train.
From Tokyo, one Nozomi train per hour runs through to Himeji, covering the journey in just over three hours (¥15710). If you have a Japan Rail Pass, there is also one Hikari train departing each hour, running through to Himeji, which you can take at no charge. Due to additional stops, the Hikari takes 3 hours and 40 minutes to reach Himeji from Tokyo.
An inexpensive method of reaching Himeji from within the Kansai region is to take one of the frequent Shinkaisoku commuter trains on the JR Kobe line that begins in Osaka, which charges only the price of a local train. The ride takes 38 minutes from Kobe’s Sannomiya station (¥950) or 57 minutes from Osaka (¥1450).
It is possible to travel from Osaka to Himeji using direct trains over the private Hanshin and Sanyo Railways but as this takes longer than JR (one and a half hours, ¥1250) it is only really worthwhile for holders of the 3 day or 5 day pass for Kansai’s private railway system.
From Kyoto, the Hikari shinkansen whisks travellers to Himeji in just under an hour. This trip can be taken without charge by Japan Rail Pass holders.
Shinkansen – the “Bullet Train”
The Shinkansen, also known as the “Bullet Train”, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the T?kaid? Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of 2,387.7km (1,483.6mi) of lines with maximum speeds of 240–300km/h (149–186mph), 283.5km (176.2mi) of Mini-shinkansen lines with a maximum speed of 130km/h (81mph), and 10.3km (6.4mi) of spur lines with Shinkansen services. The network presently links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, with construction of a link to the northern island of Hokkaido underway and plans to increase speeds on the T?hoku Shinkansen up to 320km/h (199mph). Test runs have reached 443km/h (275mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 581km/h (361mph) for maglev trainsets in 2003.
Book your trip to Japan with Altair Travel!
December 24, 2013/ altair / Tourists Digest
This striking white edifice is generally considered the most beautiful of Japan’s castles and is one of the few that has escaped the ravages of civil war, earthquakes and firebombing. Most notably, the castle miraculously survived World War II virtually unscathed, despite the rest of the city having been levelled by American carpet bombing.
The castle was designated as a national treasure in 1931 and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. It is virtually the last castle in Japan that still manages to tower over the surrounding skyscrapers and office buildings.
Himeji Castle – the Most Beautiful of Japan’s Castles
Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in Himeji, a small city at the western edge of the Kansai region of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-j? -”White Egret Castle” or Shirasagi-j? – “White Heron Castle”, because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight. At one point in the late 1500′s, it was the biggest castle in all of Asia.
Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan. The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures. Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle, Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan’s three premier castles.
Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex. Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618. For over 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.
Himeji Castle Design details
Himeji Castle is the largest castle in Japan. It serves as an excellent example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, containing many of the defensive and architectural features associated with Japanese castles. The curved walls of Himeji Castle are sometimes said to resemble giant fans, but the principle materials used in the structures are stone and wood. Feudal family crests are installed throughout the architecture of the building, signifying the various lords that inhabited the castle throughout its history.
The Himeji Castle complex is located in the center of Himeji, Hy?go on top of a hill called Himeyama, which is 45.6m (150ft) above sea level. The castle complex comprises a network of 83 buildings such as storehouses, gates, corridors, and turrets. Of these 83 buildings, 74 are designated as Important Cultural Assets: 11 corridors, 16 turrets, 15 gates, and 32 earthen walls. The highest walls in the castle complex have a height of 26m (85ft). Joining the castle complex is Koko-en Garden, a Japanese garden created in 1992 to commemorate Himeji city’s 100th anniversary.
From east to west, the Himeji Castle complex has a length of 950 to 1,600m (3,117 to 5,249ft), and from north to south, it has a length of 900 to 1,700m (2,953 to 5,577ft). The castle complex has a circumference of 4,200m (2.53mi). It covers an area of 233 hectares (2,330,000m2 or 576 acres), making it roughly 50 times as large as the Tokyo Dome or 60 times as large as Koshien Stadium.
The castle has been featured extensively in foreign and Japanese films, including the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice” (1967), and Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980) and Ran (1985). The city has been featured in a series of Japanese and foreign films due to its picturesque old-Japan look. The information office at the JR station has props from some of these films including, for example, props from the film Last Samurai.
Himeji Castle Legends
Himeji Castle is associated with a number of local lore. According to the legend, Okiku was falsely accused of losing dishes that were valuable family treasures, and then killed and thrown into the well. Her ghost remained to haunt the well at night, counting dishes in a despondent tone.
The legend of the “Old Widow’s Stone” is another folklore story associated with the castle. According to the legend, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ran out of stones when building the original three-story castle keep, and an old woman heard about his trouble. She gave him her hand millstone even though she needed it for her trade. It was said that people who heard the story were inspired and also offered stones to Hideyoshi, speeding up construction of the castle. To this day, the supposed stone can be seen covered with a wire net in the middle of one of the stone walls in the castle complex.
A folklore story is also associated with Genbei Sakurai, who was Ikeda Terumasa’s master carpenter in the construction of the castle keep. According to the legend, Sakurai was dissatisfied with his construction, feeling that the keep leaned a little to the southeast. Eventually, he became distraught and climbed to the top of the keep, where he jumped to his death with a chisel in his mouth.
Visiting Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle is particularly striking (and crowded) in cherry blossom season in April, when all the trees planted in and around the castle burst into white splendor.
Himeji Castle is open 9 AM to 5 PM daily (admission is only until 4 PM) or until 6 PM (admission is until 5 PM) from June until August. The castle is closed between December 29-31.
In order to preserve the castle buildings, it is currently undergoing restoration work that is expected to continue for several years. Himeji Castle is currently undergoing renovation until spring 2015. It will stay open throughout, but parts may be off-limits and a large tent-like structure is covering the entire main building of castle. For an additional 200 yen on top of the 300 yen entry fee, you can take an elevator to the top of the main keep to see the work in progress. A series of other parts of the castle complex have been opened up to compensate including some that are generally not open to the public. Although the image of the castle towering over the city is a key reason many people visit Himeji, the covered-up castle is still worth a visit.
Getting to Himeji Castle by Train
Himeji is along the Sanyo shinkansen line from Osaka and Kobe to Okayama and Hiroshima. The Hikari Rail Star offers frequent service to Himeji within the Sanyo region, as do the all-stopping Kodama trains. As the station is raised it is possible to see Himeji Castle from a passing train.
From Tokyo, one Nozomi train per hour runs through to Himeji, covering the journey in just over three hours (¥15710). If you have a Japan Rail Pass, there is also one Hikari train departing each hour, running through to Himeji, which you can take at no charge. Due to additional stops, the Hikari takes 3 hours and 40 minutes to reach Himeji from Tokyo.
An inexpensive method of reaching Himeji from within the Kansai region is to take one of the frequent Shinkaisoku commuter trains on the JR Kobe line that begins in Osaka, which charges only the price of a local train. The ride takes 38 minutes from Kobe’s Sannomiya station (¥950) or 57 minutes from Osaka (¥1450).
It is possible to travel from Osaka to Himeji using direct trains over the private Hanshin and Sanyo Railways but as this takes longer than JR (one and a half hours, ¥1250) it is only really worthwhile for holders of the 3 day or 5 day pass for Kansai’s private railway system.
From Kyoto, the Hikari shinkansen whisks travellers to Himeji in just under an hour. This trip can be taken without charge by Japan Rail Pass holders.
Shinkansen – the “Bullet Train”
The Shinkansen, also known as the “Bullet Train”, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the T?kaid? Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of 2,387.7km (1,483.6mi) of lines with maximum speeds of 240–300km/h (149–186mph), 283.5km (176.2mi) of Mini-shinkansen lines with a maximum speed of 130km/h (81mph), and 10.3km (6.4mi) of spur lines with Shinkansen services. The network presently links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, with construction of a link to the northern island of Hokkaido underway and plans to increase speeds on the T?hoku Shinkansen up to 320km/h (199mph). Test runs have reached 443km/h (275mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 581km/h (361mph) for maglev trainsets in 2003.
Book your trip to Japan with Altair Travel!
Tags Himeji – Japan Most Beautiful Castle
top
