Himeji Castle Trivia Quiz

Answer: Honshu

Honshu is the largest of the islands that comprise the nation of Japan, and the one with the largest population - hardly surprising, since Tokyo is located there. The elongated island is connected by bridges and tunnels to Hokkaido to the north, and the smaller islands of Shikoku and Kyushu to the south. Hyogo Prefecture is located in the southern part of Honshu, close to Shikoku.

Answer: On a hilltop near the centre of the city

The construction of a fort on the top of Himeyama hill was the starting point, with the city growing around it. Defensive structures were typically built on hilltops - it puts any attackers at a distinct disadvantage if they have to climb the hill as they approach. Himeyama is not a very high hill (about 46m, or 150 ft, above sea level at its peak), but it is enough of an elevation to have made it a suitable site for the fort.

Answer: Between the 13th and 19th centuries

Feudalism was established in Japan during the Kamakura period (1186-1333), when Minamoto no Yoritomo was designated "seii tai-shōgun" by the Emperor, establishing an official joint rule of the country between the military and the imperial family.

It continued until the end of the Edo period, in 1868. Himeji Castle was actually started in 1333, at the start of the Muromachi period. It was rebuilt and extended many times over the following centuries. The current structure, with three moats and the addition of a number of buildings to make it a complex, rather than a simple keep, was essentially completed around 1600.

Answer: It was abandoned

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), many castles were demolished, removing them as symbols (and possible rallying points) for supporters of a return to the shogunate. Himeji Castle, however, survived, in large part due to the efforts of an army officer named Nakamura Shigeto, in whose honor a stone monument was erected inside one of the castle gates.

In 1871 it was auctioned to a resident of the city, who planned to demolish it and redevelop the land. However, the project was deemed to involve too much cost - there was a lot of demolition - and the castle remained on the hilltop.

The empty building was used in various ways, including some time as an army barracks, during which time Nakamura Shigeto intervened to ensure that the scheduled demolition to avoid expensive maintenance did not proceed.

Answer: Wood

Japanese castles had their origins in wooden stockades which were then more strongly fortified. There were a number of reasons why the castles were not completely constructed with stone. Most obviously, it was a material in short supply, so it was only used for the lowest parts that needed to be strongest - and even then, the stone was often just an outer layer around an earthen mound.

The upper levels were made of wood, with tiled roofs. The castles relied for their defensive structure on a complicated arrangement of internal pathways - proceeding from the outer wall to the central keep involved proceeding along pathways that circled round and round, passing through gates to get to slightly open areas, then back through a gate to another pathway.

This gave plenty of time for defenders to attack from the top of the gates and walls that bordered the path. These walls were equipped with loopholes, allowing archers to shoot without exposing themselves, and holes called "ishi-otoshi-mado" (stone-drop holes) allowed them to drop heavy objects and/or boiling oil on the heads of soldiers trying to wend their way in.

Answer: Plaster

Any structure made from wood is clearly susceptible to attack by fire, so fireproofing was an important structural feature. The wooden walls were rendered with various mixtures, using local resources. Plaster was also applied to the roof tiles to help make them more watertight.

The color of the plaster, of course, depends on the exact materials used in its preparation. In the case of Himeji Castle, the plaster used was a brilliant white, so the castle has white walls and a grey-looking roof, because the roof plaster does not cover the entire surface.

Answer: White Egret Castle

The white plaster applied to the walls and roof, combined with the curved roofs creating an impression of a bird in flight, led to this nickname. I may be terribly prosaic, but I don't see birds at all! Others have compared the curves to resembling fans (presumably the type that consists of paper folded between two sticks that are hinged so that they can pivot to produce a curved outer surface which is commonly seen in Japanese art) - that one I can see more easily. In any case, the castle is often called "Hakuro-jō" (White Egret Castle) or "Shirasagi-jō" (White Heron Castle).

Japan's two other most famous castles are Matsumoto Castle (whose black exterior has led to it being called Crow Castle) and Kumamoto Castle (whose exterior is mostly a concrete reconstruction dating from the 20th century).

Answer: It survived bombing during World War II intact

Himeji was a bombing target because the city was an important site for rail transport, and a massive raid was sent there on 3 July 1945. Over half of the city was demolished, but the castle remained virtually undamaged, even though a firebomb landed on the top floor of the main keep - the bomb failed to detonate. This incident reinforced the local belief that the castle has divine protection, which explains why it has survived when so many of its contemporary castles have not. The fact that it did not suffer any significant damage in the 1995 earthquake is further "proof".

While there are some ghost stories associated with the castle, they are based on a number of local legends, none of them including the first owner's wife. Koko-en Garden was created in 1992 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Himeji being declared a city, but it is located adjacent to the castle's northwest side, not in its centre.

Answer: Yes

Numbers don't make much fun to read, so I will only mention that it covers around 235 hectares, or 575 acres. If that doesn't give you an immediate feel for its size, an acre is roughly the size of a football field. Other statistics can be found at the castle's site.

Himeji Castle is not only the largest Japanese castle, it is also the most visited, and its significance has been recognised in a number of official historic designations. The entire complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, registered in 1993. The Japanese government designated five separate structures as being National Treasures, due to their value in representing cultural history: the main keep, three smaller keeps, and the kitchen-corridors complex.

Answer: James Bond

Many Japanese movies have taken advantage of this spectacular site, which was a favorite of Akira Kurosawa. He used it in the 1980 historical drama "Kagemusha" ("Shadow Warrior") and the 1985 adaptation of "King Lear", "Ran" ("Chaos"). If you're not a fan of Japanese cinema, you may recall it from its use in the 1980 miniseries "Shōgun".

In "You Only Live Twice", Himeji Castle was used to film the scenes in which Bond is training with Tiger Tanaka's ninjas, preparatory to infiltrating SPECTRE's island and foiling Ernst Blofeld.