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• Himeji Castle

The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people’s reality, and eventually in one’s own.
- Susan Sontag

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During my trip to Japan last month, I visited Himeji Castle. The castle towers over the city of Himeji, which is about couple of hours west of Kyoto and Osaka, in Hyogo Prefecture. A satisfying Udon lunch preceded the walk to the top.

Situated on a small hill, the castle is visible from the entire city.

Completed in 1609 and designated as a World Heritage Site in 1992, Himeji Castle is a sight to behold. Both the inside and outside are very well preserved. It is the finest example of traditional Japanese wooden architecture. The structure is covered with white plaster giving it a resplendent glow.

There are three moats surrounding the castle grounds. Today, the main entrance is across the middle moat encircling a complex of 83 buildings. The main castle has six levels though only five are visible from the outside.

The stone walls inside the moat have an interesting curved fan shape becoming steeper at the top to make it more difficult to scale.

Inside the entrance to the main castle we were “greeted” by the Prince and Princess of Himeji (actors in traditional robes).

The way to the top is through cavernous hallways at the periphery of each floor and narrow steps connecting the floors. The hallways had numerous doors leading to countless interconnected rooms. With portholes to shoot, large doors to throw boiling water on attackers trying to scale the wall, secret passages through the rooms and floors, trap doors at the top of each flight of stairs, it was clear that the fortress was built to protect the Shogunate. Every available space along the hallway was taken up for weapons.

Maybe the ornate nails were used for hanging some weapons too!

Although today the large windows bring in lots of light it is not hard to imagine Himeji Castle to be a dark and foreboding place, always waiting in anticipation and preparation of the next attack.

Idle time might have been spent in games as depicted by the figurines in the scene below.

Protecting the castle from nature was totally another deal. Fire was the major threat to a wooden structure in an area frequented by thunderstorms. The white plaster and the tiled roof are fire retardant and the ornate metal “Shachihoko - guardian fish” sculptures at every corner of the roof are lightning protectors. The dolphin like talismans symbolize water and its defensive capabilities against fire. They obviously work because of the wire that connects the sculpture to the ground below.

Shachihoko (Guardian Fish) and Himeji City in the background

Over the centuries several families responsible for tile repair and maintenance quite literally left their stamp in the form of ornate tile crests. In the picture above, two designs of round crest tiles are clearly visible.

View of the wooden structure under the tile roof and fish sculptures at every roof corner

Firing portholes on the innermost wall of the main castle

View of the castle through the Guardian Fish (actual size) at the base

-Jai

Bloggeraid by Cynthia @ Forgive Me My Nonsense.

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SPEAK YOUR MIND

17 Comments so far

1. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on November 28, 2008 11:53 am

   This was one of my favorite castles in Japan — and we visited many castles! Perhaps it was the hike up to it, or the wonderful structure of the framing holding it up, but I really felt at peace there.

2. Happy Cook on November 28, 2008 12:20 pm

   Wish i could visit Japan. The pictures looks so beautiful.

3. yasmeen on November 28, 2008 4:55 pm

   Amazing architecture!

4. Manggy on November 28, 2008 6:51 pm

   Beautiful. I love the detail about the shachihoko– one thing I learned today!

5. Cham on November 28, 2008 11:03 pm

   Castle roof is stunning. Beautifuly captured

6. Sunshinemom on November 29, 2008 5:58 am

   The guardian fish looks beautiful! Thanks for the photo tour:)

7. Deb on November 29, 2008 8:09 am

   I suppose the castle did protect the Shogunate in at least one way. Here is it centuries later and you visited, took photos, and are now sharing your experience with so many others about their stronghold. The castle worked, if perhaps not in quite the way originally envisioned.

   Thanks for sharing your visit and your viewpoint with us.

8. Soma on November 29, 2008 9:51 am

   Thanks for sharing these. Very beautiful.

9. Bharti on November 29, 2008 11:31 pm

   Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing.

10. Alka on November 30, 2008 6:22 am

    Awesome captures….it was nice to know a part of Japan thru Jai !
    The structures appears wonderful and Brobdingnagian

11. Ivy on November 30, 2008 11:02 am

    Lovely pictures, thanks for sharing.

    I have a very special Award for both of you. Please come and collect it: http://kopiaste.org/2008/11/angels/

    Cheers,
    Ivy

12. Chandrika on November 30, 2008 4:34 pm

    Nice pictures !!!

13. Nirmala on November 30, 2008 8:39 pm

    As usual stunning pics! Thanks Jai!

14. sunita on December 1, 2008 4:49 pm

    Thanks for those lovely pictures

15. Alexa on December 2, 2008 9:36 am

    I really enjoyed the picture tour. It looks like a fantastic place to visit. I have always wanted to go and explore Japan. Thanks for sharing!

16. bhavani on December 2, 2008 8:34 pm

    enjoyed the photo essay. and the great photographs.

17. Manasi on December 3, 2008 12:29 pm

    Absolutely beautiful!!