About Japan
Himeji Castle
The castle of Himeji is the grandest of Japan’s 12 remaining feudal castles and rests resplendent on the banks of the Senba River.
The castle has been home to 48 successive lords and has been called Shirasagi-jo or the ‘white egret’ castle because of the resemblance of its plastered walls to the image of a bird taking flight.
Himeji-jo is the ultimate in samurai castles and has a five-storey main donjon (heavily fortified central tower) and three smaller donjons.
The defensive capabilities are impressive. With high, curved ramparts punctuated by gates and watch towers and rectangular, circular and triangular openings for firing guns and shooting arrows, an enemy would have been foolish to attack the castle.
There were also other features built into the walls of the donjon such as ishiotoshi where defenders could pour boiling water or oil through an opening on anyone who tried to scale the walls.
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If an enemy did breach the walls, a labyrinth of passageways and gateways had been created and these pathways twist and turn within the castle grounds in order to confuse hostile forces.
Huge ornamental fish called Shachihoko (a mythical water-beast) and were strategically placed on the roof of the castle to ward off fire.
