Himeji Castle: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:29, 6 May 2020

I may be biased, but Himeji Castle is probably the most amazing place you could visit in Japan. There are some beautiful temples out there too but the sheer size of the main keep at Himeji Castle and the fact that you can walk around almost anywhere as freely as you like cannot be experienced elsewh

History

Toyotomi Hideyoshi first built a small castle on this site for his campaigns in western Japan from 1577-1580. You can still see some of the remnants of Hideyoshi's castle in Himeji castle as Ikeda incoporated some of the stone walls into his castle. Ikeda Terumasa, an ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, was awarded this province (Harima) for his alliance during the war. Ikeda Terumasa built the main keep of Himeji-jo and erected the castle as it is known today. Himeji-jo's nickname Shirasagi-jo means "White Heron Castle" because the main keep with its three smaller towers resembles a white heron. Himeji-jo was granted "World Heritage" status by UNESCO in 1993.

Field Notes

I may be biased, but Himeji Castle is probably the most amazing place you could visit in Japan. There are some beautiful temples out there too but the sheer size of the main keep at Himeji Castle and the fact that you can walk around almost anywhere as freely as you like cannot be experienced elsewhere. It can be very crowded however, the website provides some information about how crowded it is. If possible, try to visit on weekdays and plan to arrive when it opens. Just before the ticket counter, off to your left, is an administration office where you may be able to connect with a volunteer English guide to tour the castle too. They are very knowledgeable and do great tours helping to make sure you don't miss anything important. If you have time, the Koko-en gardens are a worthy visit. You can also walk the outer moats around the castle to see more interesting angles of the castle and the ruins of other gates and fortifications. The photos below are from several different trips. Due to repairs and to limit the flow of people during peak times, some parts of the castle may be off limits at any given time.

Himeji Castle is too vast with too many great things to show, so I've split the photos into the following albums. Below are just a few photos of the main keep that you can see from the main compounds. Please see the other albums for more details: (currently under construction)

Main Compounds: Honmaru, Nishi-no-maru, Ninomaru and parts of the San-no-maru compounds. These are the areas most visitors will see if you follow the standard routes around the park.

Main Keep Interior:

Inui Sub-Keep: Typically this is not open to the public but was open for a short while in Feb 2019 along with the East Sub-Keep and connected yagura

Outer Ruins: Areas mostly outside the inner moat. Not typically visited by most tourists but if you walk the outside of the castle you'll see these sites. There are a lot of really interesting stone walls around the former gates.

Main Keep from a distance: Otokoyama, : places around town where you can get good unobstructed views of the castle.

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Gallery

Map

More Galleries and Feature Pages

Main Compounds

(72 photos)

Main Keep Interior

(44 photos)

Nishinomaru Yagura Interior

(21 photos)

Small Keeps Special Exhibit

(50 photos)

West Small Keep Special Exhibit

(24 photos)

Hishi Gate Limited Exhibition

(26 photos)

To Yagura and Karamete Limited Exhibition

(40 photos)

Oremawari Yagura and Bizen Gate Limited Exhibition

(31 photos)

(63 photos)

(43 photos)

(27 photos)

(18 photos)

(16 photos)

(10 photos)

Kokuin

(13 photos)

Himeji Domain River Barge

(12 photos)

Heisei Restoration

(22 photos)

Castle Profile
English Name	Himeji Castle
Japanese Name	姫路城
Alternate Names	Shirasagi-jo (White Heron castle)
Founder	Ikeda Terumasa
Year Founded	1601
Castle Type	Hilltop
Castle Condition	Original main keep
Designations	Top 100 Castles, UNESCO World Heritage Site, has Important Cultural Properties, has National Treasures, Special Historic Site
Historical Period	Edo Period
Main Keep Structure	5 levels, 6 stories
Artifacts	I Watariyagura, Ho Yagura, He Watariyagura, Obi Yagura, Ikaku Yagura, Chi Yagura, Ri Watariyagura; (1st & 2nd sections), Nu Gate, Kesho Yagura, Ka Watariyagura, Nu Yagura, Hishi gate, To Yagura, Orimawari Yagura, Taiko Yagura, Yo Watariyagura, Ru Yagura, Ta Watariyagura, Wo Yagura, Re Watariyagura, Wa Yagura, I Gate, Ha Gate, Ni Gate, He Gate, To no Ichi Gate, To no Ni Gate, Chi Gate, Ri Gate, Mizu no Ichi gate, Bizen Gate, To no Yon Gate East Wall, To no Yon Gate West Wall, To no Ni Gate East Wall, He Gate East Wall, He Gate West Wall, Mizu no Ichi Gate North Tsuiji Wall, Mizu no Ichi Gate West Wall, Ni Yagura South Wall, Mizu no Go Gate South Wall, I Watariyagura South wall, Ni Gate Upper East Wall, Ni Gate Lower East Wall, Ro Yagura East Wall, Ro Yagura West Wall, Ha Gate East Wall, Ha Gate West Wall, Ha Gate South Wall, Ro Gate East Wall, Ro Gate Southwest Wall, Kesho Yagura South Wall, Wa Yagura East Wall, Ka Yagura North Wall, Hishi Gate West Wall, Hishi Gate South Wall, Hishi Gate East Wall, I Gate East Wall, Taiko Yagura South Wall, Taiko Yagura North Wall, Obikuruwa North Wall, Ikaku Yagura South Wall, To Yagura South Wall, Ro Watariyagura, Ha Watariyagura, Ni Watariyagura, Obikuruwa Yagura, Ro Yagura, Ni Yagura, Ka Yagura, Ro Gate, To no Yon Gate, Mizu no Ni Gate, main tenshu, East Kotenshu, I Watariyagura, Ro Watariyagura, Inui Kotenshu, West Kotenshu, Ha Watariyagura, Ni Watariyagura
Features	main keep, gates, turrets, water moats, stone walls, walls
Visitor Information
Access	Himeji Station (Sanyo Honsen/Shinkansen), walk 15 minutes.
Hours	Open 9am-5pm (6pm in summer), closed Dec 29-30; 1000 yen
Time Required	3 hrs minimum, you could spend all day here
URL	Castle Website
Location	Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture
Coordinates	34.83806, 134.69348
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	1999
Contributor	Eric
Admin Year Visited	1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2019
Admin Visits	February 1996; December 1997; August 1998; March 21, 2004; November 15, 2009; December 19, 2018; February 28, 2019

4.93

(68 votes)

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@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 Inui Sub-Keep: Typically this is not open to the public but was open for a short while in Feb 2019 along with the East Sub-Keep and connected yagura
-Outer Castle: Areas mostly outside the inner moat. Not typically visited by most tourists but if you walk the outside of the castle you'll see these sites.
+[[Himeji Castle - Outer Ruins|Outer Ruins]]: Areas mostly outside the inner moat. Not typically visited by most tourists but if you walk the outside of the castle you'll see these sites. There are a lot of really interesting stone walls around the former gates.
 Main Keep from a distance: Otokoyama, : places around town where you can get good unobstructed views of the castle.