Page 226 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

Exploring the Complex
Built on a high bluff, Himeji-jo, the grandest of
Japan’s 12 remaining feudal castles, dominates
the city of Himeji, and is a designated UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Its cinematic potential
was exploited by Akira Kurosawa in his 1985
film Ran, a Japanese retelling of Shakespeare’s
King Lear. But the tranquil grounds and
graceful buildings seem a world away from
EXPERIENCE Western Honshu crowned by its famed donjon, but it is also West bailey Princess Sen (1597–1667) and
both the castle’s feudal past and the modern
city that it overlooks. The verdant complex is
blessed with undulating walls, moats, and
baileys. Although these aspects were once
defensive, they now serve as the perfect
Vanity Tower – the abode of
setting for taking a stroll, spotting
cherry blossoms, or even
other women – was locked
(nishi-nomaru)
each night under guard.
practicing tai chi.

INSIDER TIP
Castle of Light
Every May, during the
Himeji Castle Festival,
the main donjon is illu­ Entrance
minated by a dazzling
light show. Time your
visit to the castle com­
plex for the week after
Golden Week – usually
at the middle of the Though never put to the test, Sangoku moat
month – to view this the castle’s labyrinth of
nighttime extrava­ passage ways and gateways
ganza, where the old in the outer zones were
and new world seem to designed to confuse enemies.
collide in a riot of color.

226

224-227_EW_Japan.indd 226 04/02/2019 15:57

EW Must-see template v2.1 – 18th October 2018
Fonts: Aptifer Sans LT Pro, Posterama Text, Soho Gothic
Pro, Soho Pro, ITC Caslon 224