Himeji Castle 姫路城

Official explanation

Most of the Himeji’s castle town has been replaced by modern roads and buildings, but the castle’s white keep still watches over the city. Built at the start of the seventeenth century and at the close of a long period of civil war, Himeji Castle was a crucial power base for the Tokugawa shoguns, and their appointed daimyo lord was effectively in control of western Japan. Although the roughly 250 years of Tokugawa rule was characterized by peace, most of the fortress’s buildings were designed for warfare—nearly 1,000 gun and arrow slits dot the castle walls. The fortress contains more original buildings than any other Japanese castle today. In addition to the main keep, there are smaller subsidiary keeps, gatehouses, towers, and galleries. The mansions of the elite samurai families are lost, but the remaining structures hint at life among the Edo ruling class

The castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Treasure.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.