Associate Professor, Dr.Trinh Sinh
Geographical location
Located in central Japan, in Hyogo Prefecture, adjacent to the ancient capital of Kyoto, this land retains many traditional cultural influences of the ancient capital. Many castles, citadels, and customs of a region adjacent to the capital have preserved quite perfectly a period when this central region of Japan was the center of a country.
Himeji Castle is located in the center of Himeji City, 650 km west of Tokyo. Himeji Castle is nicknamed “White Heron” because its walls are covered with a layer of white plaster. The castle was built of wood, not stone, so a layer of white plaster was applied to all the walls, as well as the entire interior and exterior structure, to protect them from fire.
Tourists can take the high-speed railway across Japan, along the beautiful coastline, see the melting snow on Mount Fuji, which still looks like Santa Claus's hat, see the extremely modern bridges that cross from one island to another, through the famous port cities of Osaka and Kobe, and stop at this tourist city, only 55 km west of Kobe.
According to ancient Japanese books, this is an ancient castle that dates back to 1346. When a general named Ikeda Teramasa took control of this area, society was peaceful and he rebuilt this castle in 1600. During World War II, the castle was partially destroyed by bombs and was later basically restored as it is today.
From afar, you can see the magnificent and majestic Himeji Castle, which the Japanese compare to the image of a "white heron" - a noble bird, symbolizing the noble purity of a gentleman - flying in the sunset. The castle is surrounded by a green forest of Himeji Kokoen Park, a typical traditional Japanese park.
Unique architecture
Himeji was built on top of Himeyama Hill, 45.6 meters above sea level. Himeji is famous not only for its large main tower but also for its complex defense system that resembles a maze. Even today, although the paths in the castle are clearly marked, visitors still get lost and cannot find the way out.
The castle has something of Chinese art in its choice of location hidden in the woods, rising high on the hilltop like a pagoda, and something of Western art in the appearance of a sturdy medieval castle.
The Japanese have long been aware of the preservation value of Himeji Castle. Therefore, the land around the castle area is almost not allowed to be used for civil construction, and no high-rise buildings have been built to "compete" for the space reserved for the castle.
From above, we can see the plan of Himeji Castle as an oval oasis. The outer edge is a deep moat, surrounded by a stone wall, then a strip of trees, mainly pine trees. At the outermost, surrounding the entire castle is a spacious park. The castle does not have many entrances and exits, the main entrance to the castle is very solid in the south direction.
The entire castle has 6 floors built by large diameter wooden columns, supporting straight and bearing the load. There are large columns that are determined by natural science methods to be 780 years old, belonging to the rare ancient tree species and made from cypress wood. The horizontal and vertical beams are also made from wood, even the partitions are made from sawn wood planks, not painted but still carrying the natural color of the wood bark. The technique of connecting the columns and beams is also the mortise and tenon technique like the technique of building temples in our country. In particular, the stairs connecting the floors are designed not to overlap in the same coordinate position but are arranged scattered to create dangerous angles to help the defense work effectively.
On the top floor of the castle, we can see the entire ancient and modern tourist city, in the distance is the deep blue of the Japanese Inland Sea, the scenery is charming. Because it is a fortress, the bottom floor only has a few doors, made of wood, firmly locked, the door pillars as well as the door sills are made of large blocks of stone, carved with elaborate patterns.
Inside the castle are many houses with quite consistent architecture, connected by bumpy paths. There are many small rooms along the corridors, some for generals, some for soldiers and some for women. Notably, on the east side of the Daitenshu (Great Heaven) house, there is a small court, a place reserved for Samurai knights to commit suicide according to the Seppuku ritual.
The unique feature of the castle is its long, winding corridors, made entirely of wood, dating back to the early 17th century. The castle has very few windows, only narrow rectangular windows because it was primarily a defensive fortress. The paths in the castle are zigzag, the fortress windows are at advantageous angles, convenient for soldiers to shoot flaming arrows, shoot guns, and pour rocks and molten lead at the enemy, who, if they attack, must climb steep hills to reach the upper floors of the castle.
The architectural beauty of Himeji Castle, in addition to the main wooden structure, is also shown in the blue tile roofs, the roof ends as well as the eaves are decorated with delicate floral patterns, created by embossing the patterns before firing. These tile roofs are mass-produced, standardized in both size and pattern lines. Just looking at these tiles, we can see the high-level, meticulous and precise construction material manufacturing techniques of Japanese craftsmen.
From a distance, the roofs are aligned parallel to each other like lines, the angle of the roof beams is not curved like the religious architecture of the Vietnamese, thus creating a sense of grandeur. The gables of the two roofs are often attached with animal symbols like the architectural style in many East Asian regions, although the animal images are not very large. The roof system of the castle is not large but has sharp angles, a characteristic of the roof system in cold regions, able to withstand the weight of snowfall in winter. The roof layers are cut at many angles, creating parallel or perpendicular roof lines, making the roofs of the 6 floors undulating beautifully. This is also a characteristic of ancient architecture in Japan, we can see in many ancient and modern architectures. In general, traditional Japanese architecture is influenced by Chinese and Korean architecture and still retains its own identity.
But perhaps the most beautiful thing is the blend of landscape here. The castle suddenly emerges among the green of the trees, the gray-brown of the stone walls and is dotted with each season with a brilliant color of flowers.
Before leaving this place, visitors can also see a well with a wall built with square stone pillars built around it on the south side of the castle, where there is a tearful legend about a ghost that can never be released. The famous story of BanshuSara-Yashiki tells of the soul of a maid in the castle, who was tortured to the point of death because she was wrongly accused of stealing a precious plate and thrown into a deep well, every night people still hear her miserable and mournful screams.
Himeji Castle is a major tourist attraction, so people have also built a number of temporary houses in the grounds with the architectural style of the castle. Visitors can buy books and newspapers about the history and legends of the castle and many traditional Japanese souvenirs. There is also a "fortune-telling" shop here, many people spend money to draw cards. If the card correctly predicts the past and future of the wanderer, it will bring indescribable joy in a setting with a bit of spiritual romance, but if not, it will still be a happy memory of a sightseeing trip. Well, that is also a beautiful traditional spiritual feature of the Japanese people that has been preserved through many generations.
