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Himeji Castle - Hyogo

2009/08/10

The Rock Plate at the entrance
Just get down at the Hyogo station and walk down the market street and you will ens up at this gorgeous castle premises. Himeji Castle which is also called  Shirasag jo which means "white heron castle" is one of the most beautiful castles in Japan. According to the Wikipedia this is the " finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period." This is now a UNESCO　World Heritage site since 1993.

Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle with the "three country moat" at the foreground

                    　   


 Old wells of the castle
Ghost stories are woven around these wells, about suiciding maids, and their spirits are heard to be still haunting the premises.

  Inside the main tower


 Old weapon racks with weapons

 Castle premises on the left and below while the city view is on the right
The mythical tiger headed fish

 an unidentified door at the suicide grounds
When the samurai personnels and other army leaders or even normal persons admits guilt for a wrong, they used to kill themselves(suicide) by stabbing their own stomachs . There was  a special small place in the castle premises were they used to practice this "seppuku" or "harakiri" method. It is said that his place is haunted too.

 Diamond gate and three other gates still remaining intact






 The view of the main castle tower from the castle grounds

Well, Himeji Castle has lots of stories around its buildings and people lived in it, ghost stories and all but I could not even catch a glimpse of any spirit may be because it was a very hot afternoon. It was nice lesson of Japanese architecture and army tactics. Enjoy !!

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