The Momiji Diaries – Part 6 – Himeji, White Egret castle

by Jade Pavilions on 28/06/09 at 10:58 pm

12^th November, Kyoto to Matsue via Himeji

We took an early Shinkansen (bullet train) to Himeji and walked to the castle about 20 minutes from the station. The White Egret castle is one of the finest of the 12 remaining castles in Japan, built in the early 1600’s after the battle of Sekigahara , which brought about the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa shoguns. It remains much as it was when finished in 1618 with a 5 storey main tower as seen from outside but inside there are six storeys and a basement. The walls are made from huge granite blocks with the upper storeys finished in white plaster. There are over a 1000 metres of earthen walls, some of which are made of clay, sand and boiled rice water. Today the castle beats to the drum of thousands of tourists clambering up and down the steep stairways. The picture shows the famous Himeji fish (carp) ridge adornment.

Adjacent to the castle are the modern gardens of Koko-en built in 1992 to celebrate the centenary of Himeji municipality and comprises nine separate gardens built on the site of the last Lord of Himeji’s residence. The first garden is of the Lord’s house and includes a large pond with waterfall and islands and some 250 large Koi. A long corridor takes you past the pond to the guest house with it’s excellent views.

The next garden is the nursery garden, which leads on the the tea ceremony garden and then to the stream which flows through the flat landscaped garden, the garden of summer trees to the garden of pine trees where the gardeners were busy pruning the pines. The path leads on through the attractive pond and hill garden with maples, pines and arched bridge together with turtle and crane rock arrangements. The final two gardens are the flower and bamboo gardens.

On the way back to the station we passed a plant market with trees and shrubs root balled ready for sale.  The picture shows a Matsuri (festival) cart on display in the station precinct. We caught a late afternoon train to Matsue where we stayed for a few nights at the Tokyu hotel.

Other articles you might be interested in:

• The Momiji Diaries – Part 9 – Okayama, Okayama-jo
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 10 – Kiso Valley
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 8 – Matsue, Adachi Museum
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 7 – Matsue, Yuushi-en
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 5 – Kyoto, Hogon-in
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 4 – Kyoto, Agon-shu
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 3 – Kyoto, Nishi Honganji palace
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 2 – Kyoto, Murin-an garden
• The Momiji Diaries – Part 1 – Kyoto, Shinnyo-do temple

This article was written by David Burgess of Jade Pavilions. Copyright Jade Pavilions. Manufacturers of award winning, configurable oriental teahouses, pavilions, bridges and entrances. More information about Jade Pavilions.