This past January (2016) on our tour of Japan prior to the tour of the Southeast Pacific (well Oceana really…), we spent some time at a seldom visited by Americans but quite famous monument – Himeji Castle. The castle itself was built long ago but was most recently (hah) fortified in the late 1500s by legendary Japanese figure Toyotomi Hideyoshi – an interesting character because he was a peasant who rose to the highest rank of leadership at the time – the Taiko, a kind of Prime Minister. Anyway, he expanded the castle from what it was to the beautiful soaring complex you see below as fortification of lands he had won by military victory and also as a warning to those who might attempt to take what he had earned.
As you can see, it is quite beautiful and somewhat amazing that it is still standing today, especially when you consider that this was the largest castle built in Japan. The main keep alone (the largest of the three buildings depicted above) has an area of over 22 thousand square feet and stands 152 feet high. Imagine the heating bill during the winter! The main keep is just one of the many buildings though, and below you can see a caricature of the overall castle grounds, to include the original surrounding village (also called himeji).
Being so tall, the view from the inside was quite stunning. It’s crazy to think that a castle build 500 years ago could stand over 15 stories tall, but seeing the buildings from the city – and looking DOWN on them from the inside – was quite the occasion.
However, inside was not the most comfortable place to be, since it was built for people half a millennia ago. Turns out, they were much shorter. This castle, unlike most of the other main structures located in major cities in Japan during The War, was never successfully targeted for bombing. It was deemed to “out of the way” and not of an important strategic value for the B-29s. Thus it was never rebuilt or modernized. That left interiors that had stairways like this:
Notice the large wooden beam that is below chest level as this man is attempting to descend the staircase. Goodness. Other interiors, however, were very quiet and complentative. For a castle of this size, you would think that it was teeming with people. However, only a few individuals lived here, with all of their servants and other workers living in the associated long houses surrounding the perimeter of the castle grounds. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures of that (it’s a long building) but you can use your imagination. I did, however, get a picture of one of the smaller spaces in the castle, and even today, you can see how calming it appears.
As for the exterior of the castle, I took a couple photos that show you the detail put into each facet of the construction as well as the overall themes of the main keep.
Here you can see some detail on the roof tiles. These were placed primarily to keep rain and other precipitation on the outside, while keeping the heat inside. However they also were sturdy enough to hold a man’s weight in case a defense had to be made. You can see how each individual tile row has an endcap that has been casted with a design, in this case the design of a tomoe, a Shinto symbol of unknown origins, but typically understood to mean the union of “Man, Earth and Sky” – a sense of “harmony” commonly associated with Eastern Religions.
The pictures above and below show the exterior details of the keep. Those rectangular holes in the wall is an early example of defensive positions for archers or riflemen being incorporated into the structure itself. Himeji was known for its defensive fighting positions and was never taken in combat (after the rather significant initial upgrades and fortifications following Hideyoshi’s victory in the battle for the castle).
I really enjoy the way the sky looks in this picture, and with the sun casting shadows on all of the…eves? Overhangs? It looks quit imposing!
This sign is just funny. Happy Castle follows the ascribed route!
In a similar vein, these two fine gentlemen are …welcoming visitors to the castle. You can see the three-stemed symbol on their chest armor.
Well, I’ll leave you with these last two images of Himeji. You can see why it’s known as “the white crane” because of it’s stunning paint job, especially against the blue Winter sky. Below you can see the castle reacting to the sunset light. Because of the color, it’s like a canvas reflecting the light cast on it – beautiful sunset hues, soft reflections from the clouds, and pale shadows casting long shapes along the rooftops.
Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading 😀