Part 13. Japanese Castles

Just as in Europe, the feudal era in Japan was spent building castles - hundreds of them. And as in many European countries, a lot of those castles were destroyed by the government once the power became more centralized. Later calamities, from fires and earthquakes to nuclear bombs, reduced the number of surviving castles to just twelve.

Himeji-jo, Himeji, Honshu.

Part of the gate structure, Himeji-jo.

The jo (castle) in Himeji, nicknamed Shirasagi ("White Egret"), is generality considered the most beautiful of the twelve. It was originally built in 1580 and then enlarged in 1612.

View across the moat, Himeji-jo.

Himeji-jo.

View from the castle, Himeji-jo.

Himeji-jo is a labyrinth. You have to pass through a long, narrow spiral passage to access the main donjon (tower). Gates are positioned on top of steep stairs, so a battle ram can't be used.

Main donjon, Himeji-jo.

Musket rack, Himeji-jo.

Himeji-jo.

Roof, Himeji-jo.

Okayama-jo, Okayama, Honshu.

In 1960-80 many castles were rebuilt, mostly as cheap concrete copies of the originals. They still look good, though. Okayama-jo, a.k.a. U-o ("Crow Castle"), was a local ruler's answer to Himeji-jo.

The original Okayama-jo was built in 1597.

Morning before a snowstorm, Okayama-jo.

Okayama-jo at night, Okayama.

Most guidebooks don't do justice to castles. The otherwise very good Lonely Planet's Japan doesn't even mention Iga-Ueno castle, nicknamed Hakuho ("White Phoenix"). Built in the 1600-s and reconstructed in 1935, it has the highest outer walls of any Japanese castle (30 m tall). Ueno used to be the the center of ninjutsu school, so there's a ninja museum nearby, and a nice exhibition inside.

Iga-Ueno-jo, Ueno.

Osaka-jo, Osaka, Honshu. This is the tallest castle (over 80 m).

Osaka-jo, 1931 reconstruction, thoroughly renovated in 1997.

Osaka-jo was first built in 1583 by 10,000 workers for Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the first ruler of unified Japan; then razed, rebuilt in 1629, and destroyed again by Tokugawa Ieyasu and his family.

Tenshu (donjon), Osaka-jo.

Kumamoto-jo, Kumamoto, Kyushu.

Shimabara-jo, Shimabara, Kyushu.

The last castle to be besieged was Kumamoto-jo, built in the 1600-s and burnt in 1877 during Saigo Takamori's rebellion against the Meiji Restoration. Another nicely restored castle on Kyushu is Shimabara-jo (1624/1964). There are also a few castles on Shikoku, but only one on Hokkaido - Matsumae-jo. The last original castle ever built in Japan (in 1854), it was supposed to protect the entrance to Tsugari Strait from the Russian navy.

Matsumae-jo, Matsumae, Hokkaido.

Hiroshima-jo, Hiroshima, Honshu.

Corner turret, Hiroshima-jo

Hiroshima- jo, nicknamed Ri-jo ("Carp Castle") for carps living in its wide moat, was built in 1589. Burned to the ground by an atomic bomb explosion less than one kilometer away, it was rebuilt in 1958.

Donjon, Hiroshima-jo

Bridge across the moat, Hiroshima-jo

Part 14: Japanese Castles (continued)

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