Himeji+Castle

=Himeji Castle=

Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle Photo and Video Gallery
==**Built in 1346 it was named Himeyama Castle. In 1331, [|Akamatsu Sadanori] planned a castle at the base of Mount Himeji, where[|Akamatsu Norimura] had constructed the temple of [|Shomyoji]. After Akamatsu fell during the [|Kakitsu War], [|Yamana clan] briefly took over planning of the castle; the Akamatsu family took over again following the [|Ōnin War].**==

Outside picture of rooftop of Castle: = = =In 1580, [|Toyotomi Hideyoshi] took control of the badly damaged castle, and [|Kuroda Yoshitaka] built a three-story tower. Following the [|Battle of Sekigahara] in 1600, [|Tokugawa Ieyasu] granted Himeji Castle to [|Ikeda Terumasa] who embarked on a nine-year expansion project that brought the castle roughly to its current form. "Only the east gate of one section of the second bailey" survived from the earlier period.[|[1]] The current keep dates from 1601, and the last major addition, the Western Circle, was completed in 1618.= =Himeji was one of the last holdouts of the [|tozama daimyō] at the end of the [|Edo period]. It was held by the descendants of [|Sakai Tadasumi] until the [|Meiji Restoration]. In 1868, the new Japanese government sent the Okayama army, under the command of a descendant of Ikeda Terumasa, to shell the castle with blank cartridges and drive its occupiers out.= =When the [|han system was abolished] in 1871, Himeji Castle was sold at auction. Its final price was 23 [|Japanese Yen] (in those days, approximately 100,000 yen at today's rates) and in public funds. Himeji was bombed twice in 1945, at the end of [|World War II]. Although most of the surrounding area was burned to the ground, the castle survived almost entirely unscathed, with one [|firebomb] dropped on the top floor of the castle miraculously [|unexploded]. Castle restoration efforts began in 1956.= ==**Himeji Castle frequently appears on Japanese [|television]. Edo Castle (the present [|Tokyo]) does not have a [|keep], so when a fictional show such as //[|Abarenbo Shogun]// needs a suitably impressive substitute, the producers turn to Himeji.**==

** Other key information of note: **
=**=**= =**= Panoramic view of Himeji Castle**=
 * In the [|James Bond] film //[|You Only Live Twice]// (1967), Himeji Castle appears as [|Tiger Tanaka]'s secret [|ninja] training school and rocket weapons development center.
 * Himeji appears in [|Akira Kurosawa]'s //[|Kagemusha]// (1980) and //[|Ran]// (1985).
 * //[|The Last Samurai]// (2003), starring [|Tom Cruise], was shot [|on location] near Himeji City at [|Engyō-ji] Temple on Mount Shosha. The scene where Cruise and [|Ken Watanabe]are standing under some cherry blossom trees talking about Watanabe's poem was filmed in the family grave of the Honda clan, who were the [|daimyo]'s of Himeji Castle for about a hundred years or so.
 * In //[|Shogun]//, a 1980 TV miniseries starring [|Richard Chamberlain], Himeji appears as Osaka Castle.
 * Other features about this place: [|PlayStation 3] and [|Nintendo DS], the Himeji Castle.