Himeji Castle

姫路城Himeji, Hyogo

Historic area

What makes this place special?

At a Glance

Himeji Castle is a hilltop castle complex in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. Its network of 83 structures with advanced feudal defences is regarded as the finest surviving example of early Japanese castle architecture. White plaster walls earned it the nickname White Heron Castle, and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan.

The site was first fortified by the Akamatsu clan in the fourteenth century, and Ikeda Terumasa rebuilt it from 1601 to 1609 into the complex seen today. Honda Tadamasa later added buildings, including the Dressing Tower built for Princess Sen. The main keep and other structures are National Treasures, and the area inside the middle moat is a Special Historic Site. The castle came through wartime bombing and the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, and a restoration completed in 2015 returned its roofs to their original white.