Himeji Castle

▶ Origin of the Name “Himeji”
The name “Himeji” comes from “Himeji-oka” mentioned in the Harima no Kuni Fudoki. Long ago in the age of the gods, Oonamuchi-no-Mikoto was so troubled by his son, Honoakari-no-Mikoto, who was far too wild, that when he set out to sea he left him behind on an island, intending to abandon him. But Honoakari-no-Mikoto noticed the ship sailing away and became furious, stirring up winds and waves that wrecked the vessel.
At that time, places where the ship, cargo, and other items washed ashore were given names such as “Funao-oka,” “Inu-oka,” “Hako-oka,” and “Koto-oka,” for a total of fourteen hills. One of them, where silkworms washed ashore, was “Himeji-oka,” which is said to be the area of Himeyama where Himeji Castle now stands. In old Japanese, “silkworm” was pronounced “himeji.”
The use of “Himeji” as a place name can be seen in documents from the early Edo period, when Ikeda Terumasa built Himeji Castle and developed the castle town.

▶ Sakakibara Disturbance
Sakakibara Masamine, lord of Himeji Castle, was deeply devout and also known as a warm-hearted ruler who initiated the Yukata Festival. However, he became dissatisfied when the shogunate did not approve his request to serve as an alternate at Nikko, and he fell into drink and pleasure, beginning to frequent Yoshiwara. He also took the famous courtesan Takao, praised for her beauty in “Shikiroku,” out of the pleasure quarter. He brought her back to Himeji and had her live in the Nishi-yashiki within the castle grounds.
When these actions became known to the shogunate, which was then promoting austerity, Masamine was denounced.
Eventually, in his twenties, he was ordered into retirement, and the Sakakibara clan was transferred to Echigo Takada. Takao followed Masamine, and the two went together to Echigo Takada.

▶ The Death of the Master Carpenter, Genbei Sakurai
When Ikeda Terumasa was building Himeji Castle, it is said that a man threw himself from the completed keep and died by suicide. That man was Genbei Sakurai, the master carpenter in charge of the castle’s construction.
Ordered by Terumasa, he worked tirelessly for nine years, sacrificing sleep, until Himeji Castle was finally completed. Yet he could not shake the feeling that the keep he had painstakingly built was leaning slightly toward the southeast.
So, when he climbed the keep with his wife, she pointed out, “The castle is splendid, but unfortunately it does seem to be leaning a little.” Shocked, Genbei thought, “If a woman can tell at a glance, then the measurements I took must have been wrong,” and soon after is said to have leapt from the tower with his chisel in his mouth.
In fact, the castle’s southeast lean was confirmed during dismantling and repair work. The real reason was that the stone walls at the east and southeast corners had sunk.

▶ Okiku’s Well
In the plaza called Kamisan no Maru inside the castle stands “Okiku’s Well,” said to be the well from the famous story “Banshu Sarayashiki” (The Dish Mansion of Banshu).
During the Eisho era, Aoyama Tetsuzan, the chief retainer of castle lord Kodera Norishoku, plotted to seize the castle. Upon learning of this, the loyal retainer Kinugasa Motonobu sent his beloved concubine Okiku to serve as a maid in the Aoyama household and exposed the plot. However, despite his efforts, the coup by the Aoyama family succeeded. Even so, Okiku remained in the Aoyama household and sent information to Motonobu, who had fled to Tatsuno. Eventually, she was discovered by Machizubo Danshiro, who then tried to force her into marriage by threatening her. But Okiku would not agree. Enraged, Danshiro hid one of the ten treasured plates, accused her of negligence, and had her killed and thrown into the well. From then on, it is said that every night a sad voice counting “one plate, two plates...” could be heard from the well.
Later, the Aoyama faction was destroyed by Motonobu and the loyal retainers, and Okiku is enshrined as “Okiku Daimyojin” at Okiku Shrine in the grounds of Jusho Shrine.

▶ Uba-ga-Ishi
When Hashiba Hideyoshi was building a three-tiered keep on Himeyama, word spread that he was struggling because stones for the castle’s stone walls were hard to gather. Hearing this, a poor elderly woman who sold baked rice cakes in the castle town offered an old mortar, saying, “If this can be of any help, please take it.”
Hideyoshi was greatly pleased and used the mortar in the stone wall on the north side of the present Koshotenshu. This story quickly became famous, and people began competing to donate stones, allowing the construction to proceed smoothly.

▶ Miyamoto Musashi’s Exorcism of a Monster
During the time when Kinoshita Iesada was lord of the castle, Miyamoto Musashi, who had stopped in Himeji, concealed his identity and served as an ashigaru. Around that time, rumors spread that a monster appeared in the castle, but when the chief retainer heard that Musashi had calmly carried out night duty, he realized that Musashi was the famed martial artist.
Musashi was then made a guest retainer of the Kinoshita clan and ordered to drive out the monster. One night, carrying a single lamp, Musashi climbed the keep. When he reached the stairs on the third floor, a terrifying blaze suddenly poured down, accompanied by earthquake-like sounds and vibrations. As Musashi reached for the sword at his waist, everything returned to silence. The same thing happened again on the fourth floor, but he continued up the keep and kept watch until dawn, when a beautiful princess appeared and said, “I am the guardian deity of this castle, Gyobu Myojin. Because you came here tonight, the monster fled in fear. As a reward, I bestow upon you this sacred sword.” Then she vanished. It is said that before Musashi remained there was a famous sword by Go Yoshihiro, placed in a white wooden box.

▶ Natsu and Seijuro
Seijuro was the son of a sake brewer in Murotsu, a handsome young man who grew up wanting for nothing. For reasons of circumstance, at the age of 19 he entered service at Tajimaya, a rice wholesaler in Honmachi, Himeji, where he eventually fell in love with the beautiful daughter there, Natsu. Their love, however, was forbidden, and in desperation they eloped, only to be captured. Seijuro was falsely accused of theft and executed at the young age of 25. Natsu, overcome with grief, lost her sanity and wandered the town searching for Seijuro. This tragic tale became widely known throughout Japan through novels and plays by Ihara Saikaku, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, and others. A monument honoring the spirits of the tragic pair, a hiyoku-zuka, stands at Keiun-ji Temple in Nozato.