Himeji Castle (Japan)
One place in Japan that I had always wanted to visit was Himeji Castle (or in Japanese Himeji-jo and alternately known as Shirasagi-jo, the White Heron Castle). This castle is located in Himeji City in Hyogo Prefecture and is a little over one hour by train from Kobe. This feudal age Castle is easily accessible from the train station.
Himeji-jo is a Japanese National Treasure Site. It became one of the World Cultural Heritage Sites in the 1990's. Imagine... this structure was constructed as a fort in the 1400's and rebuilt in the 1600's as a castle.
My father was in Japan with the Occupation Forces as a U.S. Military Police from 1946-48 in the Kansai Area (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Lake Biwa). During my childhood, he shared his stories of visiting many places in that region of Japan.
One of the places he often talked about was Himeji-jo. I think that one of the reasons it was such a memory to him was because it was never destroyed during WWII. The pilots thought that it was just an untamed area because of the water and the area looked very overgrown. So, it was preserved, not destroyed.
To my father, it must have looked majestic at that time as Japan was recovering from so much war damage. He often talked about the structure being built of wood.. without any nails to hold the structure together. He often encouraged me to visit Himeji-jo when we chatted together on the phone.
In July, I had the opportunity to visit Himeji Castle. One of my dreams came true. I met a friend and we hired a Silver Guide. In Japanese, he described the history of Himeji-jo. The Guide's stories were fascinating as we walked around the area.
Uniquely, the castle's stones came from many different places. Some stones are even from tombs. As we walked around, my mind began to think of how much smaller the workers were at that time. I just could not imagine how many people it took to move the massive stones into place at the bottom of the structure before the building was built.
It is five levels and has one floor below that really makes it six stories. There are some gates built for defense that actually confused many enemies. The walls of the original fortress were built in the 1500's are still visible. Also, you could imagine that the location was ideal. As we climbed the stairs from floor to floor looking out of the fortress, there were magnificent views of the coastline. It seems amazing that such a large structure has survived earthquakes.
The reason for the nickname, Shirasagi-jo, is because the secured tower or the keep in the early structure resembles a white heron.
This is one area that I would enjoy revisiting. I love Japanese architecture and its history.
more later...
Himeji-jo is a Japanese National Treasure Site. It became one of the World Cultural Heritage Sites in the 1990's. Imagine... this structure was constructed as a fort in the 1400's and rebuilt in the 1600's as a castle.
My father was in Japan with the Occupation Forces as a U.S. Military Police from 1946-48 in the Kansai Area (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Lake Biwa). During my childhood, he shared his stories of visiting many places in that region of Japan.
One of the places he often talked about was Himeji-jo. I think that one of the reasons it was such a memory to him was because it was never destroyed during WWII. The pilots thought that it was just an untamed area because of the water and the area looked very overgrown. So, it was preserved, not destroyed.
To my father, it must have looked majestic at that time as Japan was recovering from so much war damage. He often talked about the structure being built of wood.. without any nails to hold the structure together. He often encouraged me to visit Himeji-jo when we chatted together on the phone.
In July, I had the opportunity to visit Himeji Castle. One of my dreams came true. I met a friend and we hired a Silver Guide. In Japanese, he described the history of Himeji-jo. The Guide's stories were fascinating as we walked around the area.
Uniquely, the castle's stones came from many different places. Some stones are even from tombs. As we walked around, my mind began to think of how much smaller the workers were at that time. I just could not imagine how many people it took to move the massive stones into place at the bottom of the structure before the building was built.
It is five levels and has one floor below that really makes it six stories. There are some gates built for defense that actually confused many enemies. The walls of the original fortress were built in the 1500's are still visible. Also, you could imagine that the location was ideal. As we climbed the stairs from floor to floor looking out of the fortress, there were magnificent views of the coastline. It seems amazing that such a large structure has survived earthquakes.
The reason for the nickname, Shirasagi-jo, is because the secured tower or the keep in the early structure resembles a white heron.
This is one area that I would enjoy revisiting. I love Japanese architecture and its history.
more later...
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