JAPAN
CASTLES OF JAPAN
Amazing Beauty Fortresses have been built in Japan since ancient times. A particular need for castles arose in the 15th century after the central government’s authority had weakened and Japan had fallen into the chaotic era of warring states (sengoku jidai). During that era, Japan consisted of dozens of small independent states that fought each other and built small castles on top of mountains for defensive purposes
HIMEJI CASTLE
W
hen Oda Nobunaga reestablished a central authority over Japan in the second half of the 16th century, and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed the reunification of Japan, many larger castles were built across the country. Unlike the earlier castles, they were built in the plains or on small hills in the plains, where they 44
served as a region’s administrative and military headquarters and a symbol of authority. They became the centres of “castle towns”. After the end of the feudal age (1868), many castles were destroyed as unwelcome relics of the past or were lost in World War II. Only a dozen “original castles”, i.e. castles with a main keep that dates from
the feudal era (before 1868), survive today. Furthermore, several dozen castles were reconstructed over the past decades. HIMEJI CASTLE The Japanese daimyo Akamatsu Sadanori built the first iteration of Himeji Castle (originally called “Himeyama Castle”) in 1346, just west of the city of Kobe.
