Main Keep of Himeji castle and the East Small Keep to its left, one of the three subsidiary keeps connected to the Main Keep by fortified corridors to form a unified defensive square, Japan, c.1609 AD. The entrance to this complex is a fortified gate between the two keeps you see... [1280x677] [OC]

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…in the picture, accessed through a narrowing labyrinthic path, that exposed invaders to multiple killing zones.

Regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, it comprises a network of 83 structures with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. Himeji has remained intact for 400 years.

As with almost all Japanese castles from the period onward the main keep was used as a storehouse in times of peace and as a fortified tower in times of war, and the feudal lord's government offices and residences were in a group of single-story buildings around it.

Himeji Castle dates to 1333 but was significantly remodeled several times until 1609. For 400 years, Himeji Castle has survived through fires, natural disasters including the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, and the bombing of Himeji in World War II.

Along with Matsumoto and Kumamoto Castles, Himeji is considered one of Japan's three premier castles.

Himeji Castle contains advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. Loopholes in the shape of circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles are located throughout Himeji Castle, intended to allow defenders armed with firearms or archers to fire on attackers without exposing themselves. Roughly 1,000 loopholes exist in the castle buildings remaining today. Angled chutes called "stone drop windows" were also set at numerous points in the castle walls, enabling stones or boiling oil to be poured on the heads of attackers passing by underneath, and white plaster was used in the castle's construction for its resistance to fire.

The castle complex included three moats, of which the outer is now buried. Parts of the central moat and all the inner moats survive. The moats have an average width of 20 m (66 ft), a maximum width of 34.5 m (113 ft), and a depth of about 2.7 m (8.9 ft). The Three Country Moat is a 2,500 m2 (27,000 ft2) pond which exists inside the castle; one of the purposes of this moat was to store water for use in fire prevention.

The castle complex contains numerous warehouses that were used to store rice, salt, and water in case of a siege. A building known as the Salt Turret was used specifically to store salt, and it is estimated that it contained as many as 3,000 bags of salt when the castle complex was in use. The complex also contained 33 wells within the inner moat, 13 of which remain. The deepest of these has a depth of 30 m (98 ft).

One of the castle's most important defensive elements is the confusing maze of paths leading to the castle's keep. The gates, baileys, and outer walls of the complex are organized to confuse an approaching force, causing it to travel in a spiral pattern around the complex on its way to the keep. The complex originally contained 84 gates. At present, 21 gates remain intact.

In many cases, the castle walkways even turn back on themselves, greatly inhibiting navigation. For example, the straight distance from the Hishi Gate to the main keep is only 130 m (430 ft), but the path itself is a much longer 325 m (1,066 ft). The passages are also steep and narrow, further inhibiting entry.

This system allowed the intruders to be watched and fired upon from the keep during their lengthy approach, but Himeji Castle was never attacked in this manner, so the system remains untested. However, even today with the route clearly marked, many visitors have trouble navigating the castle complex.

My apologies for inaccuracies and mistakes.