The Architecture of Medieval

Japan’s Himeji Castle

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Shachi-gawara on the roof of

hajime Castle in Japan

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Onigawara are a type of roof ornamentation

found in Japanese architecture.

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oni -gawara, simple decorative brackets that are

installed under the roof.Without gable ornaments,
the space under the angles can look empty and plain.
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A gable dormer has a pitched triangular roof that

extends from the original roof. It also has three
walls, the front usually having a window installed in it.

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Something that is barred prevents your entry. If you

are trying to sneak into your friend's house, avoid
the barred windows.
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Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction that

has been used for thousands of years. The first
stone walls were constructed by farmers and
primitive people by piling loose field stones into a
dry stone wall. BM

Introduction
Himeji Castle, located in the town of Himeji in the Hyogo
Prefecture of Japan, was built on a natural hilltop between
1581 and 1609 CE. The complex is composed of a maze-like
arrangement of fortified buildings, walls, and gates, with a
six-storey tower keep at its centre. The whole complex is
surrounded by defensive walls and a double moat. The castle
is the largest and best-preserved samurai fortification in the
country and is both an official National Treasure of Japan and
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Foundation and Function
The hill upon which Himeji Castle was built was first fortified in
1333 CE. The famous castle was added to the site in 1581 CE
by the military leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598 CE) who
added the first version of the castle keep (tenshu) which then
had only three storeys. This type of castle, built on a hill and
surrounded by a wide plain, is known as hirayamajiro.
Externally, the keep appears to have five floors,
because the second and third floors from the top
appear to be a single floor; however, it actually has
six floors and a basement.
Design and Defensive Features
The castle is surrounded by two water-filled moats (hori),
although there were originally three. Once past this first
line of defence, would-be attackers would then have to
negotiate the surrounding fortification walls. The walls
have a total length of 4.8 km (3 miles) and some sections
reach a height of 26 metres (85 ft). Such was the
prodigious quantity of stone required to build the walls
one can still see today that sometimes desperate
measures were taken and everything from tombstones
to millstones were used in some sections. Despite the
eclectic material, the walls have no mortar so as to make
them more resistant to earthquakes. Besides their great
height, the walls and buildings have the additional
defensive feature of over 1,000 loopholes (sama)