History of Himeji Castle

Himeji castle was originally constructed in 1346 by Akamatsu Sadanori, and is one of the best preserved castles in Japan despite being built so long ago. This castle was first used as a structure for protection against other local Daimyo, but it was never used in or involved in battle (which is part of the reason it is in such good shape now). Over the years, many families ended up in control of this castle including the Honda, Okudaira, Matsudaira, Sakakibara, and Sakai, but when Oda Nobunaga took control of the Harima district in 1577 during his rule as emperor, he placed his general Toyotomi Hideyoshi in charge. While the period of Hideyoshi’s presence in Himeji Castle was relatively short lived, he still added on by building over 30 turrets, and converting the structure into a true castle.

In 1601, Ikeda Terumasa was put in control of the castle for his support of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Sekigahara battle against the Toyotomi Daimyo, becoming the next lord of the building. Since the area around Himeji contained many Toyotomi sympathizers, the location of this castle allowed Terumasa to assert his dominance over these villages much more easily. Terumasa intended for the castle to be remodeled to resemble the emperor’s in Azuchi. This construction lasted over nine years, and it is expected that over 25,000,000 man days were spent constructing the revolutionary fortress. During this building period, Terumasa added 20 more turrets to Hideyoshi’s original ones, constructed a five story tenshu, or main tower, and dug a large outer moat on the exterior of the complex. The further construction in Himeji Castle ironically used some materials from Hideyoshi’s old fortress, since the castle ultimately prevented Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s son from communicating with western lords.

Japan finally designated the spectacular castle as a national treasure in 1931, with restoration work beginning in 1956 and being completed in 1964 (despite being in decently good condition to start). Eventually, “[i]n 1993 it was put on the list of UNESCO World Cultural and Heritage Sites” (“HISTORY.” Colombia.edu), where it has stayed protected for the last couple decades.