The Castle without Battles

Himeji Castle was originally started by Akamatsu Sadanori during the North/South Era (1336-1392) and it survived War Period (1482-1558). So the castle may have been involved in some battles. Usually the warriors went out and fought battles in the battlefield. Though some battles may have happened near the castle, there are no records that the battle was fought in the castle.

Fear of Fire

The castle is vulnerable to fire because it is made of wood. Abstract fish tiles were used on the ridges and also the word "Mizu"(water) were used for the names of some gates. These were symbolic fire prevention measures. As successive lords took precautions against fire, the castle was not destroyed by fire but was slightly damaged only by lightning. However, in the Meiji Period when the Tenth Infantry was stationed here ,a fire burned buildings in the Bizen Bailey. Himeji was bombed twice during World War 2 and enemy planes dropped incendiary bombs on Himeji , but the castle had a miraculous escape. So the Meiji Era conflagration was the only one fire in about 400 hundred years.

The Number of soldiers in Himeji Feudal Clans

About 500 soldiers receiving 300 Koku (1 Koku is 5 bushels of rice) served the Ikeda Family. About 4,000 served the Honda Family(This number includes Tadatoki's followers and lower-ranking soldiers). Nearly 3,000 served the Sakabara Family , and 2,200 served the Sakai Family , the last family in Himeji Castle. Ikeda Terumasa began to build the castle in its present form in 1601. It took 8 years. We don't know the exact number of workers, but the standard number of soldiers mobilized for a war was 200 per 10,000 Koku. Counting on this scale, the number of construction workers would reach over 50 million. It can be estimated that there were at least 30 million workers over the years.

Showa Restoration

Himeji Castle, which is made of wood, was repaired time and again. Fundamental preservation works began in 1934. First, the West Bailey (Nishinomaru) was repaired, but repair works were broken off due to World War 2 . They were resumed in 1950 (Showa 25),and in 1956, Main Tower was disjointed and restored. They drew plans and took pictures of the whole castle . Then the spoiled parts were replaced and the whole building was restored as it was in 1601. It took 8 years to restore Main Tower. The work required 250,000 man days and cost 550 million yen. The repair work has been named "The Restoration in the Show Era"(or Showa Restoration). It was completed on June1,1964.