Himeji Castle

Zweite Auflage
ISBN: 978-3-86905-026-3
Verlag: Edition Axel Menges

Buch, Englisch, Deutsch, Band 26, 52 Seiten, Format (B × H): 280 mm x 300 mm, Gewicht: 800 g

Reihe: Opus

Himeji Castle with its white walls shimmering in
the sunlight like the feathers of a fantastic bird
seems to be rising into the blue sky like a great
heron. This impression has given it the name
»Castle of the White Heron«. The castle, which
has nothing martial about it, on the contrary, it
is extraordinarily elegant, is undoubtedly one of
Japan’s most impressive fortresses. It was built
between 1601 and 1609, when the period of war
was almost over, and was used primarily for administration
and residence, with defence as a
secondary role. Thus its aesthetic impact was
as important when it was built as its actual purpose
as a fortification.
The main building in the castle is the Tenshu
or Tenshu-kaku in the northem part of the complex,
a wooden structure about 46 m high. Its
complicated intermediate roofs make it look
more like a skyscraper than a tower.
Himeji Castle represents an architectural type
that probably does not occur in other areas of
the world. Large parts of the building were
classified as »Kokuho State Treasure« as early
as 1951, and others as »Important Cultural Property
«. The building was placed on the World
Cultural Heritage list in 1993

Zielgruppe

Japanreisende allgemein, Kunsthistoriker, Architekturhistoriker,
Japanologen, Architekten, Designer, Historiker

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schaarschmidt-Richter, Irmtraud

Weitere Mitwirkende

Nishikawa, Mo

Über Autor(innen)

Schaarschmidt-Richter, Irmtraud
Art historian Irmtraud Schaarschmidt-Richter
specialized in classical and modern Japanese
art and architecture at an early stage, as is
shown by numerous publications. Her book on
the Japanese garden has long been a standard
work. She was involved in publications
on architects Kazuo Shinohara and Toyo
Ito.

Nishikawa, Mo
Photographer Mo Nishikawa, a pupil of Ken
Domon, one of the most important photographers
of our century, sees his work as a spiritual
and intellectual contemplation of art. His photographs
of the Katsura Palace, the Himeji Castle
and the Ise Shrine are among the great masterpieces
of contemporary photography.