- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1601 · 17th century
- Site origins
- 1346 per Wikidata – an earlier stronghold or first mention
- Location
- Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
- Style
- Japanese castle architecture
- Heritage
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 34.8394°, 134.6936°
History
The Akamatsu clan first fortified Himeyama hill in the 14th century, and in the late 16th century Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a three-storey keep here. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 the domain went to Ikeda Terumasa, who between 1601 and 1609 rebuilt the stronghold into today's complex crowned by a five-storey main keep. A few years later Honda Tadamasa added the western bailey for his daughter-in-law, Princess Sen. The castle escaped both the Meiji-era demolition of castles and the bombing of the city in 1945. It joined the UNESCO list in 1993 and had its roofs and plaster thoroughly restored between 2009 and 2015.
What to see
The route to the main keep winds through a maze of gates, hairpin turns and dead ends designed to confuse attackers. Inside the keep the original timber interiors survive, including two massive supporting pillars, gun ports and stone-drop openings, and the top floor looks out over the city. In the western bailey a long corridor leads to Princess Sen's Make-up Tower, and on the way you pass Okiku's Well.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q188754
Popularity: articles about this site in 76 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).