Himeji Castle (built 1601-09 onward)
The castle at Himeji is an iconic image of Japan and one of the finest examples of fortress architecture in the world. It stands at the center of Himeji city, a strategic point along the route to the western provinces of Honshu (the main island of Japan). The castle was built atop a natural 45-meter hill called Himeyama, and its main donjon (tower) rises an additional 31 meters. From afar, the graceful rooflines of its white towers resemble a flock of herons in flight, suggesting the castle's proper name—"Egret Castle" (Shirasagi).
The site of Himeji Castle had been occupied by various fortresses for many centuries prior to 1581, when Hideyoshi—one of the three "unifiers" of Japan—built a three-story donjon there in 1581. When the Togukawa Shogunate rose to power in 1600 following the battle of Sekigahara, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu rewarded his son-in-law Ikeda Terumasa (1564-1613) with the fiefdom of Harima (modern-day Hyogo prefecture). With the Shogun's blessing, Ikeda began construction of the present castle in 1601 and completed the fortress in 1609, using materials from the older fortress of Hideyoshi as well as resources gathered from around his province. The construction was of such magnitude that the supply of good quality stones grew scarce, and Ikeda's engineers were forced to loot gravestones and even coffins to gather the necessary materials.