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By David Butterworth
Gossip, not the printed word, gave me the eventual inspiration to visit Himeji Castle during my 2 years and 3 months stay in Japan. Staying in Osaka for some months, the inspiration was irresistible, after hearing what a unique, authentic and unspoiled structure it is. 'Authenticated' is certainly the adjective to use, as I came away from my visit having achieved its purpose, absorbing the spiritual essence of the place. Because of this, no other historical preserved building throughout the country is as true to its present form.
After paying the 600 yen fee at a ticket machine, I was immediately drawn into the folds of this mysterious enclave. The Castle's symbolical name, 'Shirasagi,' or 'The White Heron' is immediately apparent and appropriately captivating. The white plastered walls of the main tower's tiered structure gleam in the sun and soar gracefully into an azure blue sky.
The castle's defences are quite complex with many twists, turns and avenues which would need to be explored before entrance to the tower would be reached. The guides advise that at least 90 minutes is needed before a sufficient tour of the castle and grounds are through. Rushing into this delicate conglomeration is a definate mistake.
Going through its various corridors and strings of windows meant for defensive purposes, the Castle's purpose and sense of place are realised. The wooden interior is old, dark and austere, forming simple chambers big and small quite characteristic of how the Japanese developed their art and culture through the centuries.
Contrasting the gloom, I emerged into bright sunlight into a richness of white walled and neatly cobbled alleyways as I made my way upwards through their curvatures to the tower entrance. Trees and other foliage neatly complimented the surroundings as I continued to absorb them. There was also a feeling of adequacy, sufficiency and space; that the builders were mindful of the importance of these as Tokogawa Shogunate assembled the structure.
The tower's seven tiers, or floors, are immediately apparent as they overhung into wooden ramparts painted white underneath.
After being given a plastic bag to put my footwear in, the basement was dark, pitch black, almost. Lingering in this had its design as I began to mount the stairs to explore all the floors and look into adjoining chambers which the tower held. One of them contained a sitting figure of Musashi, the most famous samurai of them all who took up residence in the Castle as it was completed during the Edo Period. But the purity of the tower's wooden structure as it is absorbed from top to bottom is the most notable feature as I climbed up and down it.
The top most floor houses a small shrine as well as many tourists. From here, I was high enough to feel a true and complete expansion of Himeji City and its environs as I looked down the main street back to the JR railway station and the Shinkansen moving in and out. I felt I was suspended in some romantic paradise, even like the White Egret bird or the Heron itself. I got a true sense of the scale of the castle ramparts as I looked down onto the grounds. The surrounding hills were green and magnificent against the blue and the sunlight as I decided it was time to make my way down and retreat from the tower and eventually the Castle itself.
I came away feeling the place's oldness, cherished conserve; and knowing that to linger was the key, I felt satisfied, spiritually renewed that I had truly absorbed the mysterious dignity that Himeji Castle has to offer as well as experiencing things truly Japanese and what they once stood for.
No wonder Hollywood has recently yearned for this too in capturing a distant past while romanticising Japanese history in films such as 'The Last Samurai.'
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