Japanese castles and gardens, all in one.

  Himeji, Japan
Friday, July 22, 2005

What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're travelling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road
- William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

Himeji-jo
On to Himeji, 55km west of Kobe and conveniently located on the bullet train line enabling us to stop off on route to Hiroshima. Although it has a few temples of note (mainly the Engyō-ji temple) it is better know as a castle town, being home to stunning Himeji Castle, Himeji-jo.

01 Himeji Castle

Himeji castle is one of the oldest surviving structures from medieval Japan, the countries most visited castle and yet another UNESCO World Heritage listed site. And you've probably seen it before; the fortress made the memorable backdrop to the Bond adventure You Only Live Twice, as well as countless feudal-era dramas and the recent Tom Cruise film The Last Samurai, part of which was filmed in the city. It serves as an excellent example of the prototypical Japanese castle, containing many of the defensive and architectural features most associated with Japanese castles; the tall stone foundations, whitewash walls, and the organization of the buildings within the complex are standard elements of any Japanese castle. The site also features many other examples of typical castle design, including gun emplacements and stone-dropping holes. It miraculously survived

02 Royal life

World War II bombings (amazing to think looking at it.... it had to offer a nice target to any bomber plane) which laid waste to much of the city, and in 1993 it was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list. The present complex of moats, thick defensive walls, keeps and connecting corridors dates from the early seventeenth century, although there has been a fortress in the town since around 1346. It was rebuilt in 1600 during a time of peace so the addition of the central five-storey keep and three smaller buildings constructed at that time was done to create something visually impressive. And on that note it

03 Up and up and up

was a job well done. While touring the castle it becomes plainly obvious that it would have been a tough place to get into all those years ago as the castle incorporates many cunning, and not so cunning, defensive features; we passed through gates and past turrets & walls from which defending soldiers fired arrows, shot muskets and dropped stones & boiling liquids. One of the castles most important defensive elements, and perhaps its most famous, is the confusing maze of paths leading to the castles highlight, its main keep (dates from 1601). The gates, baileys, and outer walls of the complex are organized so as to cause an approaching force to travel in a spiral pattern around the castle on their way into the keep, facing many dead ends. This allowed the intruders to be watched and fired upon from the keep during their entire approach. However, the castle was never attacked in this manner and so the system remains untested.

These days finding your way around the castle is no problem since the route is clearly marked and there are English explanations on plaques at many points of interest. But as mentioned previously the highlight of the castle id the

04 Himeji

inner citadel which is dominated by the magnificent central keep (donlon), Daiteu-hu. There are six levels within the dark and chilly keep, supported by a framework of huge wooden pillars, one of which is made from a 780-year-old cypress tree; touch it and it's said you'll have long life. I'd rather take my chances with eating right and exercising but hey. On the top level, where the lord and his family would commit suicide if the castle was captured (which it never was), you can now look out across the city and as far as the Inland Sea on days of old (see photos to see what I mean).

Looked almost real
After having a snoop around the castle you can hop over the moat on the east side to relax in the lovely Himeji Koko-en. These are nine linked, traditional style, gardens constructed in 1992 and although they do have a slight false,

05 Koko-en Gardens

made-for-the-tourist feel it's still a nice place to lounge around and capture a few nice pictures. We finished off our very hot afternoon in Himeji in the gardens which were built on land previously inhabited by the army of samurai soldiers whose job it was to guard the castle. These guys used to live amongst the low walled alleys which still separate the gardens. These days there are plenty of nice gazebos, streams, bonsai trees and well manicured lawns... but no samurais.

Having suffered that disappointment it was back to the train station to pick up our bags and hop on the next bullet train for Hiroshima, our last stop in Japan.