Himeji Castle Himeji Castle dates 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 centuries later . Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi , who added a three - story castle keep . In 1600 , Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara , and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609 , expanding it into a large castle complex . Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618 . For over 400 years , Himeji Castle has remained intact , even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II , and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake . Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan , and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country . The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site and five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures . Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle , Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan ' s three premier castles . In order to preserve the castle buildings , it is currently undergoing restoration work that is expected to continue for several years . History . Himeji Castle ' s construction dates to 1333 , when a fort was constructed on Himeyama hill by Akamatsu Norimura , the ruler of the ancient Harima Province . In 1346 , his son Sadonori demolished this fort and built Himeyama Castle in its place . In 1545 , the Kuroda clan was stationed here by order of the Kodera clan , and feudal ruler Kuroda Shigetaka remodeled the castle into Himeji Castle , completing the work in 1561 . In 1580 , Kuroda Yoshitaka presented the castle to Toyotomi Hideyoshi , and in 1581 Hideyoshi significantly remodeled the castle , building a three - story castle keep with an area of about 55 m ( 592 ft ) . Following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 , Tokugawa Ieyasu granted Himeji Castle to his son - in - law , Ikeda Terumasa , as a reward for his help in battle . Ikeda demolished the three - story keep that had been created by Hideyoshi , and completely rebuilt and expanded the castle from 1601 to 1609 , adding three moat s and transforming it into the castle complex that is seen today . The expenditure of labor involved in this expansion is believed to have totaled 25 million man - days . Ikeda died in 1613 , passing the castle to his son , who also died three years later . In 1617 , Honda Tadamasa and his family inherited the castle , and Honda added several buildings to the castle complex , including a special tower for his daughter - in - law , . In the Meiji Period ( 1868 to 1912 ) , many Japanese castle s were destroyed . Himeji Castle was abandoned in 1871 and some of the castle corridors and gates were destroyed to make room for Japanese army barracks . The entirety of the castle complex was slated to be demolished by government policy , but it was spared by the efforts of Nakamura Shigeto , an Army colonel . A stone monument honoring Nakamura was placed in the castle complex within the first gate , the . Although Himeji Castle was spared , Japanese castles had become obsolete and their preservation was costly . When the han feudal system was abolished in 1871 , Himeji Castle was put up for auction . The castle was purchased by a Himeji resident for 23 Japanese yen ( about 200 , 000 yen or US $ 2 , 258 today ) . The buyer wanted to demolish the castle complex and develop the land , but the cost of destroying the castle was estimated to be too great , and it was again spared . Himeji was heavily bombed in 1945 , at the end of World War II , and although most of the surrounding area was burned to the ground , the castle survived intact . One firebomb was dropped on the top floor of the castle but fortunately failed to explode . In order to preserve the castle complex , substantial repair work was undertaken starting in 1956 , with a labor expenditure of 250 , 000 man - days and a cost of 550 million yen . In January 1995 , the city of Himeji was substantially damaged by the Great Hanshin earthquake , but Himeji Castle again survived virtually undamaged , demonstrating remarkable earthquake resistance . Even the bottle of sake placed on the altar at the top floor of the keep remained in place . Historical recognition . Himeji Castle was registered on December 11 , 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan . Five structures of the castle are also designated National Treasures : the , , , , and . The area within the middle moat of the castle complex is a designated Special Historic Site . Along with Matsumoto Castle and Kumamoto Castle , Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan ' s three premier castles . It is the most visited castle in Japan , receiving over 820 , 000 visitors annually . Starting in April 2010 , Himeji Castle underwent restoration work to preserve the castle buildings , and this work is expected to continue until 2014 . Entry to the castle keep is closed throughout the renovation , but visitors can view the restoration process from observation platforms and they can continue to enter other areas of the castle complex . Design details . Himeji Castle is the largest castle in Japan . It serves as an excellent example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture , containing many of the defensive and architectural features associated with Japanese castles . The curved walls of Himeji Castle are sometimes said to resemble giant , but the principal materials used in the structures are stone and wood . Feudal family are installed throughout the architecture of the building , signifying the various lords that inhabited the castle throughout its history . The Himeji Castle complex is located in the center of Himeji , Hyōgo on top of a hill called Himeyama , which is 45 . 6 m ( 150 ft ) above sea level . The castle complex comprises a network of 83 buildings such as storehouses , gates , corridors , and . Of these 83 buildings , 74 are designated as Important Cultural Assets : 11 corridors , 16 turrets , 15 gates , and 32 earthen walls . The highest walls in the castle complex have a height of 26 m ( 85 ft ) . Joining the castle complex is , a Japanese garden created in 1992 to commemorate Himeji city ' s 100th anniversary . From east to west , the Himeji Castle complex has a length of 950 to 1 , 600 m ( 3 , 117 to 5 , 249 ft ) , and from north to south , it has a length of 900 to 1 , 700 m ( 2 , 953 to 5 , 577 ft ) . The castle complex has a circumference of 4 , 200 m ( 2 . 53 mi ) . It covers an area of 233 hectares ( 2 , 330 , 000 m or 576 acres ) , making it roughly 50 times as large as the Tokyo Dome or 60 times as large as Koshien Stadium . The at the center of the complex is 46 . 4 m ( 152 ft ) high , standing 92 m ( 302 ft ) above sea level . Together with the keep , three form a cluster of towers . Externally , the castle keep appears to have five floors , because the second and third floors from the top appear to be a single floor ; however , the tower actually has six floors and a basement . The basement of the keep has an area of 385 m ( 4 , 144 ft ) , and the interior of the keep contains special facilities that are not seen in other castles , including Toiletlavatories , a drain board , and a kitchen corridor . The keep has two pillars , with one standing in the east and one standing in the west . The east pillar , which has a base diameter of 97 cm ( 38 in ) , was originally a single fir tree , but it has since been mostly replaced . The base of the west pillar is 85 by 95 cm ( 33 by 37 in ) , and it is made of Japanese cypress . During the Shōwa Restoration ( 1956 – 1964 ) a Japanese cypress tree with a length of 26 . 4 m ( 87 ft ) was brought down from the Kiso Mountains and replaced the old pillar . The tree was broken in this process , so another tree was brought down from Mount Kasagata , and the two trees were joined on the third floor . The first floor of the keep has an area of 554 m ( 5 , 963 ft ) and is often called the " thousand - mat room " because it has over 330 Tatami mats . The walls of the first floor have for holding matchlock s and spears , and at one point , the castle contained as many as 280 guns and 90 spears . The second floor of the keep has an area of roughly 550 m ( 5 , 920 ft ) . The third floor has an area of 440 m ( 4 , 736 ft ) and the fourth floor has an area of 240 m ( 2 , 583 ft ) . Both the third and fourth floors have platforms situated at the north and south windows called , where defenders could observe or throw objects at attackers . They also have small enclosed rooms called , where defenders could hide themselves and kill attackers by surprise as they entered the keep . The final floor , the sixth floor , has an area of only 115 m ( 1 , 237 ft ) . The sixth floor windows now have iron bars in place , but in the feudal period the panoramic view from the windows was unobstructed . Defenses . Himeji Castle contains advanced defensive systems from the feudal period . in the shape of circles , triangles , and rectangles are located throughout Himeji Castle , intended to allow defenders armed with matchlocks or archers to fire on attackers without exposing themselves . Roughly 1 , 000 loopholes exist in the castle buildings remaining today . Angled chutes called were also set at numerous points in the castle walls , enabling stones or boiling oil to be poured on the heads of attackers passing by underneath , and white plaster was used in the castle ’ s construction for its resistance to fire . The castle complex included three moat s , one of which — the outer moat — is now buried . Parts of the central moat and all of the inner moats survive . The moats have an average width of 20 m ( 66 ft ) , a maximum width of 34 . 5 m ( 113 ft ) , and a depth of about 2 . 7 m ( 8 . 9 ft ) . The is a 2 , 500 m ( 26 , 910 ft ) pond ; one of the purposes of this moat was to store water for use in fire prevention . The castle complex , particularly the , contains numerous warehouses that were used to store rice , salt , and water in case of a siege . A building known as the was used specifically to store salt , and it is estimated that it contained as many as 3 , 000 bags of salt when the castle complex was in use . The castle complex also contained 33 wells within the inner moat , 13 of which remain ; the deepest of these has a depth of 30 m ( 98 ft ) . One of the castle ' s most important defensive elements is the confusing maze of paths leading to the castle keep . The gates , bailey s , and outer walls of the complex are organized so as to confuse an approaching force , causing it to travel in a spiral pattern around the complex on its way to the keep . The castle complex originally contained 84 gates , 15 of which were named according to the Japanese syllabary ( " I " , " Ro " , " Ha " , " Ni " , " Ho " , " He " , " To " , etc . ) . At present , 21 gates from the castle complex remain intact , 13 of which are named according to the Japanese syllabary . In many cases , the castle walkways even turn back on themselves , greatly inhibiting navigation . For example , the straight distance from the to the is only 130 m ( 427 ft ) , but the path itself is a much longer 325 m ( 1 , 066 ft ) . The passages are also steep and narrow , further inhibiting entry . This system allowed the intruders to be watched and fired upon from the keep during their lengthy approach , but Himeji Castle was never attacked in this manner so the system remains untested . However , even today with the route clearly marked , many visitors have trouble navigating the castle complex . Cultural impact . Himeji Castle is frequently 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 . The castle has been featured extensively in foreign and Japanese films , including the James Bond movie " You Only Live Twice " ( 1967 ) , and Akira Kurosawa ' s " Kagemusha " ( 1980 ) and " Ran " ( 1985 ) . Lore and legend . Himeji Castle is associated with a number of local lore . The well - known " kaidan " ( or Japanese ghost story ) of is set in Edo ( Tokyo ) , but a variant called is set in Himeji Castle . There is a disputed claim that the castle is the bona fide location of the entire legend , and the alleged Okiku ' s Well remains in the castle to this day . According to the legend , Okiku was falsely accused of losing dishes that were valuable family treasures , and then killed and thrown into the well . Her ghost remained to haunt the well at night , counting dishes in a despondent tone . The legend of the is another folklore story associated with the castle . According to the legend , Toyotomi Hideyoshi ran out of stones when building the original three - story castle keep , and an old woman heard about his trouble . She gave him her hand millstone even though she needed it for her trade . It was said that people who heard the story were inspired and also offered stones to Hideyoshi , speeding up construction of the castle . To this day , the supposed stone can be seen covered with a wire net in the middle of one of the stone walls in the castle complex . A folklore story is also associated with Genbei Sakurai , who was Ikeda Terumasa ' s master carpenter in the construction of the castle keep . According to the legend , Sakurai was dissatisfied with his construction , feeling that the keep leaned a little to the southeast . Eventually , he became distraught and climbed to the top of the keep , where he jumped to his death with a chisel in his mouth . Gallery . Panoramic overview < br > Views from afar < br > Views from below < br > Views from above < br > Views from interior < br >