Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle with its white walls shimmering in
the sunlight like the feathers of a fantastic bird
seems to be rising into the blue sky like a great
heron. This impression has given it the name
»Castle of the White Heron«. The castle, which
has nothing martial about it, on the contrary, it
is extraordinarily elegant, is undoubtedly one of
Japan’s most impressive fortresses. It was built
between 1601 and 1609, when the period of war
was almost over, and was used primarily for administration
and residence, with defence as a
secondary role. Thus its aesthetic impact was
as important when it was built as its actual purpose
as a fortification.
The main building in the castle is the Tenshu
or Tenshu-kaku in the northem part of the complex,
a wooden structure about 46 m high. Its
complicated intermediate roofs make it look
more like a skyscraper than a tower.
Himeji Castle represents an architectural type
that probably does not occur in other areas of
the world. Large parts of the building were
classified as »Kokuho State Treasure« as early
as 1951, and others as »Important Cultural Property
«. The building was placed on the World
Cultural Heritage list in 1993