Himeji Castle Lego Collection for Adults

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Himeji Castle's recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lego has announced the new Himeji Castle set. This castle is known as the White Heron Castle because of its heron-like appearance, and the Lego set replicates the finest details of the castle. In addition to Himeji castle, Lego will also unveil the Zen Garden set this summer. The traditional Japanese garden includes a drum bridge, water stream, koi fish, water lilies, stone arrangements and lanterns.

Both sets will be released August 1, 2023.  The Himeji Castle set is priced at 20,980 yen and the Zen Garden set is 15,480 yen. You can find out more details on the Lego website. 

If you are interested in Japanese castles, please check out my Castle Page on this blog to find out about the castles I have visited, including Himeji castle in Hyogo Prefecture.

Himeji Castle

This is my second visit to Himeji Castle. I visited in 2018 and posted about the inside here and the outside here. I took fewer photos this trip.

Historical notes from J-Castle:

Himeji Castle's early history dates to the 14th century when Akamatsu Norimura built a fortification on this site. Himeyama Castle was then built by his son in 1346. The castle starts to come into prominence during the Sengoku Period when it was renovated by the Kuroda Shigetaka in 1545. In 1580, Nobunaga took control of Harima proving and placed it under the control of Toyotomi Hideyoshi who remodeled the castle and built a small keep. You can still see some of the remnants of Hideyoshi's castle in Himeji castle as Ikeda incoporated some of the stone walls and gates 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.

(If you are interested in Japanese Castles, check out the links on my Castle Page to see the castles I've visited.)

Himeji Castle - Inside

Himeji Castle is the most significant wooden building in Japan with six floors plus a basement.

First Floor  

Upon entering, you must take off your shoes and then carry them around with you. A lot of the inside was dark, so my pictures aren't so good.

Each floor has a sign with the features of that floor and English information is included.

Second Floor 

Third Floor

Fourth Floor

Fifth Floor

Sixth Floor

Going down

Small Keep

Princess Sen was the granddaughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu.  At the age of 7, she married Tomyotomi Hideyori.  However, he committed suicide in the Osaka Summer Battle waged by Ieyasu.  She was rescued from Osaka Castle as it burned.  At the age of 20, she married Honda Tadatoki, son of the lord of  Himeji Castle.  Her palace Musashino Goten, built on the site of the 3rd Bailey was said to be especially beautiful, thanks to the huge amount of dowry.  She spent the happiest ten years of her life with her husband, son Kochiyo and daughter Katsu.  Kochiyo died of disease at the age of 3 and Tadatoki died at the age of 31.  Princess Sen returned to Edo to become a Buddhist nun under the name of Tenjuin.  She spent the rest of her life mourning the loss of her husband and son until she died at the age of 70.

(If you are interested in Japanese Castles, check out my Castle Page to see the castles I've visited.)