{"id":29499,"date":"2013-03-21T20:45:59","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T00:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=29499"},"modified":"2013-03-21T20:50:26","modified_gmt":"2013-03-22T00:50:26","slug":"himeji-castle-reconstruction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2013\/03\/21\/himeji-castle-reconstruction\/","title":{"rendered":"Himeji Castle – Reconstruction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by Benjamin Martin<\/strong><\/a>, a 5th year JET on Kume Island<\/a> in Okinawa<\/a>, publisher of the blog MoreThingsJapanese.com<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and author of the YA fantasy series\u00a0<\/em>Samurai Awakening<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Tuttle).<\/em><\/p>\n

\"IMG_8576\"<\/a>Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture is hailed as the most fabulous of Japan’s many castles. It is definitely the largest. I had the opportunity to visit Himeji for a half-day at the start of March in 2013. Himeji Castle is a UNESCO World Hertiage site.<\/p>\n

Restoration<\/h2>\n

Over the past several years, the main keep of Himeji Castle has been covered by a giant scaffolding that is essentially a building that encircles the high roof. The internal structure has been reinforced to prevent earthquake damage, while the plaster and roofing tiles have been replaced or reworked for water and fire proofing.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8412\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The last major restoration of the castle was completed in 1964. \u00a0This new reconstruction is similar to the first. When I visited the restoration work was nearly complete. I had the opportunity to travel to the top of the scaffolding and view the roof from the outside, a view that will\u00a0disappear\u00a0in 2014 as the scaffolding is\u00a0disassembled\u00a0and the main keep re-opened. \u00a0Despite the\u00a0construction\u00a0work, I found the grounds beautiful and interesting. \u00a0Though the inner keep is not\u00a0accessible, much of the rest of the grounds were, including the West\u00a0Bailey. \u00a0It was a great way to spend a few hours strolling through the castle grounds and trying to snap a few photos.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8236\"<\/a>Throughout the grounds there are multilingual plaques describing many aspects of the history and culture of the castle including its reconstruction and\u00a0maintenance. \u00a0Many crests of past lords who reigned at the castle, many worked into the roofing tiles. \u00a0In the Egret’s Eye View, I was even able to observe a live demonstration of the tiling work. \u00a0I’ve always found Japanese style tile roofs<\/a> to be interesting, so it was great to see how they and the walls were actually put together.
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