TOP ＞ Castle Study Guide ＞ Himeji Castle - Stone walls
After Azuchi Castle was built by Oda Nobunaga and Osaka Castle by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the standard image of castles as standing atop high stone walls was solidified. Stone walls supported massive structures such as castle keeps, turrets, and fortifications, and served as retaining walls for expansive compounds, all of which were essential elements of castles from the 16th century onward.
- 備前丸の南西隅の石垣
- Stone wall at southwest corner of Bizen-maru
- ＜Note the beautiful fan-shaped curve＞
- As techniques of building high stone walls advanced, they came to take on curved forms.
- 帯ノ櫓下の石垣
- Stone wall below obi no yagura
- It is the highest stone wall in all of Himeji Castle.
- 帯郭櫓（おびかくやぐら）下の石垣
- The stone wall below the obi kaku yagura (“kimono sash turret”)
- ＜Impressive stacking of stones in the sangizumi style at the corners＞
- Rectangular stones are stacked in alternating directions.
- 大天守の南東隅の石垣（北望）
- Stone wall at southeast corner of dai-tenshu (large castle keep) (view to the north)
- Places where the weight of the castle keep broke the wall and it was repaired with stones of different colors are visible.
- 大天守の南東隅の石垣（上方部分）
- Stone wall at southeast corner of dai-tenshu (large castle keep) (Upper part)
- Stones that broke during large-scale renovations in the Showa period (1926-1989) have been reinforced.
- はノ門の西方石垣の隅部
- Corner of western stone wall of Ha no Mon (Ha Gate)
- This section is in the koyo (ancient style) rather than sangizumi.
- 下山里曲輪の古様（こよう）の石垣
- Ancient style stone wall at Shimo-Yamazato-guruwa compound.
- Walls constructed with natural stone before the Edo period (1603-1868) remain in some areas of the castle grounds.
- 下山里曲輪の古様の石垣
- Ancient style stone wall at Shimo-Yamazato-guruwa compound.
- ＜Part 1＞
- Irregularly shaped stones are skillfully stacked in a stone wall, not very high, with a linear gradient.
- 下山里曲輪の古様の石垣
- Ancient style stone wall at Shimo-Yamazato-guruwa compound.
- ＜Part 2＞
- Boulders on the ground are used as the stone wall’s foundations.
- 二ノ丸の補強石垣
- Reinforced stone wall of Ninomaru
- ＜Stones added on the front＞
- When the stone wall became loose, this measure was taken to reinforce it without re-stacking the stones.
- 乾小天守下の石垣
- Stone wall below Inui Sho-Tenshu (small castle keep)
- The ubagaishi (lit. “Old Woman’s Stone”) is placed in a gap in the stone wall.
- 姥ヶ石
- Ubagaishi
- ＜Ishiusu (stone mill) split in half＞
- Legend says that an old woman presented Hashiba (later known as Toyotomi) Hideyoshi with her milling stone when the castle was being built.
- はノ門の東方
- East side of Ha no Mon (Ha Gate)
- ＜Temba of stone wall＞
- The lid of an ancient stone sarcophagus was repurposed as a building material for the castle many centuries later.
- 備前門石垣中の転用石
- Repurposed stone in stone wall of Bizen-Mon gate
- ＜Stone sarcophagus in a burial mound＞
- The body container part of the sarcophagus is repurposed as a building material, and it is placed standing up in a prominent position to the side of the gate.
- はノ門の礎石にされた転用石
- Repurposed stone used as cornerstone of Ha no Mon (Ha Gate)
- Many stone pagodas and other structures made for religious purposes were repurposed as building stones when the castle was constructed.
- 化粧櫓下の石垣刻印
- Mark on stone wall below kesho yagura (princess’s “boudoir turret”)
- ＜Mark on stone wall (pentagram of Abe no Seimei)＞
- If you look closely at the surface of the stone wall, you will notice various signs engraved.
- ぬノ門の入口を飾る大石組み
- Large stone decorating entrance of Nu no Mon (Nu Gate)
- Large stones are arranged in an eye-catching manner in this section of the wall, which is intended to be visually impressive.
- 菱ノ門の東方石垣
- Eastern stone wall of Hishino-Mon Gate
- ＜Arrangement of large stones Part 1＞
- The stone wall leading to the large, main Hishino-Mon Gate is built with large stones conveying the might of the castle’s lord.
- 菱ノ門の東方石垣
- Eastern stone wall of Hishino-Mon Gate
- ＜Arrangement of large stones Part 2＞
- The stone wall leading to the large, main Hishino-Mon Gate is built with large stones conveying the might of the castle’s lord.
- 発掘整備された三ノ丸大手西の切石積
- Kiriishizumi (masonry laid with regularly cut stones) on west side of excavated and restored Sannomaru Ote-mon Gate
- Believed to be the site of Honda Tadatoki and Princess Senhime’s Musashino Goten palace. Elegant stone revetment walls have been discovered and restored.
- りノ一櫓下の石垣
- Stone wall below Rinoichi yagura turret
- ＜Breaks where additional construction was carried out＞
- Breaks in the stone wall can be seen at several sites on the castle grounds, illustrating the history of construction work.
- 天守北の腰曲輪・へノ渡櫓の石垣
- Tenshu (castle keep) north koshiguruwa (lit. “waist compound,” a castle compound on the side of a mountain) / Stone wall of He no watari yagura (He roofed passage)
- ＜Sumikake (truncated corner) to ward off evil spirits believed to come from the northeast＞
- The corner of the stone wall on the northeast, believed to be an inauspicious direction, is intentionally chipped off as symbol of warding off evil spirits.
- 内堀の北東隅の石垣
- Northeast corner of inner moat wall
- ＜Sumikake (truncated corner) to ward off evil spirits believed to come from the northeast＞
- The northeast corner of the inner moat is believed to have this special layout so as to ward off evil spirits.
