West small keep (kotenshu) of Himeji castle (circa 1609) after repairing works ended 2015.

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West small keep (kotenshu) of Himeji castle (circa 1609) after repairing works ended 2015. Toyotomi Hideyoshi first built a small castle on this site for his campaigns in western Japan from 1577-1580. You can still see some of the remnants of Hideyoshi's castle in Himeji castle as Ikeda incoporated some of the stone walls into his castle. Ikeda Terumasa, an ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, was awarded this province (Harima) for his alliance during the war. Ikeda Terumasa built the main keep of Himeji-jo and erected the castle as it is known today. Himeji-jo's nickname Shirasagi-jo means "White Heron Castle" because the main keep with its three smaller towers resembles a white heron. Himeji-jo was granted "World Heritage" status by UNESCO in 1993.

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Size: 1930px × 3122px
Location: Himeji Castle, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Photo credit: © Ivan Marchuk / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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