Himeji Castle: Where it is Located, When it Was Built?

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Himeji castle
The Himeji Castle is located on the hilltop in Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. The building is one of the oldest Japanese architectures comprising of 83 buildings commonly referred to as the Hakuro-jo or Shirasagi –Jo in Japanese, which means the white castle or White Heron Castle. The castle is commonly referred to as White Heron because of its exterior structure resembles a bird taking flight (Silva 344).
When Was It Built?
Himeji Castle was originally built by Akamatsu Sadanori one of the descendants of lord Akamatsu Norimura ; the Himeji Castle construction began between 1333 to 1346 when Akamatsu Norimura the guardian of Harima Province formed an army as ordered by the Imperial Prince Morinaga. His son Akamatsu Sadonori built the fortress on Mount Hime, after the death of Akamatsu Sadanori, the next leader Nobunaga Oda took charge of the district modifying the building with 30 turrets. In 1601, Ikeda Terumasa took control of Himeji Castle given to him as a gift after the battle against Toyotomi Daimyo (Ushi –Utaka 140).
The building played important role during the Ikeda Terumasa regime because it helped him assert power over the other districts. After the death of Terumasa, other noble families who lived in the castle were Honda, Okudaira, and Sakai among others. Thus Himeji Castle was strategically placed to enable rulers oversee activities within the province. Historians believed that the castle was built for more than 25,000,000 days with thousands of locally made materials, the building included a five-storied building and a middle and outer moat (Munsterberg 112). The irony behind the building is that, materials used for construction were from Hideyoshi's old fortress which was an ancient building constructed to prevent the lords ‘son from interacting with the lords from the west. After construction, several royal families lived and controlled the castle after the great Terumasa, including the Honda, Okudaira, Matsudaira, Sakakibara, and Sakai. Himeji castle was mostly constructed for defense purposes (Munsterberg 113).
How Is the Cultures Art Reflected In the Architecture?
Himeji Castle location is an influential element; it is located at the hilltop that gives the geographical surrounding protection against an enemy attack. The three moats, including the inner, the outer and middle moats act as defenses because they are always filled with water preventing the enemy from attacking suddenly. The idea behind the moats is that when an enemy approaches the castle he is forced to swim across the water leaving behind all the supplies, this implies that by the time the enemy reaches the third moat the enemy become weak (Jimura 7).
Apart from utilizing well the natural surroundings, the building construction include a fifteen –meter, sloping stonewalls making it impossible for anyone to view the castle directly from its base. The fascinating passages within the castle are meant to confuse anyone unfamiliar with its layout. The building consists of 84 gates heavily built by woods and stone. There are various openings within the wall to the main building meant for throwing stones in case an enemy strik...