Beautiful Himeji Castle
Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in the city of Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan . It is the finest surviving example of early 17th-century Japanese castle architecture , comprising 83 buildings with highly developed systems of defence and ingenious protection devices dating from the beginning of the Shogun period. Himeji Castle is a masterpiece of construction in wood, combining function with aesthetic appeal, both in its elegant appearance unified by the white plastered earthen walls and in the subtlety of the relationships between the building masses and the multiple roof layers. The castle is also known as Hakuro-jō (“White Egret Castle”) or Shirasagi-jō (“White Heron Castle”) because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight. Its origins date to 1333 , when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346 , and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two ce