The largest castle in Japan is Himeji castle located in Hyogo prefecture. Himeji castle is widely considered the crown jewel of Japanese castles for its size, beauty and condition. The castle complex contains 83 buildings and covers an area large enough to accommodate 50 Metrodomes.
Originally a hilltop fort built by the ruler of Harima province Akamatsu Norimura in 1333, the hilltop fort was later demolished and rebuilt by Norimura’s son and heir, Sadanori, as Himeyama castle in 1346. Successive owners of the castle continued to make additions to the castle complex resulting in the castle we see today.
As a prototypical Japanese castle, Himeji has appeared in domestic Japanese films like Kurosawa’s Kagemusha to 007’s You Only Live Twice, and who could ever forget the castle as a stand-in Osaka castle in the 1980 television series Shogun.
The Main keep is supported by two pillars. One in the east and one in the west. Originally, they were of a single tree. However, over consecutive renovations these pillars have been largely replaced. An attempt to replace one pillar with an ancient tree from the Kiso mountains fell through when the tree broke during the hauling process. It was then joined with another tree from Mount Kasagata to replace the pillar.
In 2010, Himeji castle underwent a five-year renovation project to restore its roof and walls. In 2015, Himeji castle reopened to receive over 2.8 million visitors making it the most visited castle in all of Japan.
Princess Sen
Princess Sen was the granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Himeji castle’s most famous resident. Promised in marriage to Toyotomi Hideyori the son of Toyotomi Hideoyoshi.
At the age of seven Princess Sen went to live with Hideyori at Osaka castle. Little is known of the first few years of her time in Osaka castle, however, when she was nineteen, her grandfather Tokugawa Ieyasu besieged Osaka castle in 1615.
Hideyori, along with his mother and his son by a concubine, committed suicide. Princess Sen was rescued before the fall of Osaka castle and would remarry in 1616 to Tadatoki Honda.
A few years after their marriage, the couple moved to Himeji castle where Princess Sen is associated with the Kesho yagura or the dressing tower there. Senhime and Tadatoki were said to be happy. Princess Sen had two children, a son and a daughter. However, things took a turn for the worse when their son suddenly died at the age of three, and then tragically, Princess Sen’s husband, Tadatoki, shortly thereafter in 1626 of tuberculosis.
After the death of her husband, as was the custom, Princess Sen cut her hair and became a nun. Moving to Edo and leaving Himeji castle behind.
Conclusions
Himeji castle is a must see for any lover of Japanese castles. The castle complex is quite large so be prepared to walk spend at least half a day there to see everything. If you are interested in Himeji castle, please take a look at my special three-part video tour series on YouTube.