Himeji Castle
Cost
Attractions > Osaka > Japanese Castles > Umeda
About | Access | Hotels & Lodging | Hours & Fees
Himeji Castle by Oren Rozen (CC BY-SA 4.0) on SnapJapan.com
About
Himeji Castle is one of the top 3 premier castles in Japan along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle and one of the twelve original castles in Japan. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Sitein 1993, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Japan. Himeji Castle is also the largest and most visited castles in Japan and has a long and interesting history. Although there were never any serious/major assaults against the castle, it has survived many possibly disastrous events to remain as one of the "original" standing castles in Japan.
In the early 1300's a warlord named Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on the hill where the current Himeji Castle stands. His son then destroyed that fort and built "Himeyama Castle" in 1346. The castle went through a couple more renovations and additions, named changed to "Himeji Castle", until Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded Ikeda Terumasu the castle for his alliance and help in the Battle of Sekigahara. Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609 into a huge Castle Stronghold. Further warlords who ruled the castle added buildings to the complex in the 1600's also to the castle you see today.
Hemeji Castle early 1900s
During the Meiji Restoration the Meiji Government ordered the destruction of most all castles in Japan. Himeji Castle was on the list to be destroyed but an army colonel named Nakamura Shigeto pleaded with the government to spare the castle. He was successful in his efforts and Himeji Castle was spared. Maintaining castles is a costly affair and even though the castle was saved, the government wanted no part in maintaining it so they put it up for auction. In 1871 a local Himeji resident by the name of Kanbe, bought Himeji Castle for 23 yen (about $2,500 US dollars as of 2015). He planned on destroying the castle and develop the land into something profitable but after getting and estimate and realizing it would be too costly to destroy the castle, he left it abandoned.
During WW2 Himeji was bombed extensively by the US with firebombs. There was no effort to "preserve" Himeji castle by the US Air Force and fire bombs were dropped relentlessly on the city. A fire bomb even landed in the upper floors of the castle but never exploded. Himeji Castle survived WW2 with very little damage. Finally in 1995 there was a huge earthquake, the Great Hanshin Earthquake, and Himeji Castle survived virtually undamaged once again!
Please visit our Japanese Castles page to find more castles in Japan.
Data
Name: Himeji Castle 姫路城 (Himeji Jyou)
Original Year Built: 1601
Type: Hilltop 丘城
Class: Major Castle
Condition: Original
Founder: Ikeda Terumasa
Timeline
1580 - Daimyo Kuroda Yoshitaka, the chief strategist and advisor to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, presented the castle to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
1581 - The castle was improved by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in which a 3 story main tower was built.
1608 - The main tower was once again improved by Ikeda Terumasa to become a 5 story main tower (the tower you see today).
1671 - After the Meiji Restoration Himeji Castle was sold at public auction and then abandoned.
1882 - Some of the building burned but luckily only a few.
1910 - Restorations on the castle begin.
1956 - Surviving WW2 mostly unscathed, major restorations begin again.
1993 - Himeji Castle achieved UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the 1st place in Japan to be registered as so.
Access
Closest Train Station: Himeji
68 Honmachi Himeji
Hyogo 670-0012 Japan
Tel: 079-285-1146
Walk: from Himeji Station (Main Staion, Bullet Train Stop) about 15 minutes.
Hotels & Lodging
Recommended
View a full list of Hotels and Lodging in or nearby Himeji Castle.
Hours & Fees
Hours: Summer (April 27-August 31): 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (Last entry at 5:30 p.m.)Winter: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Last entry at 4:30 p.m.)
Closed: Dec. 29 and 30.
Cost: The park around the castle is free but entrance to the main tower is 18+: 1,050 yen, 5-18: 300 yen.
Information presented is based on the time it was created. There may be changes since publication. Please confirm information by visiting the Official Website before visiting.
Resources
Website: Himeji Castle Homepage
