Himeji Castle

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The Himeji Castle was built in 1614 and according to greatbuildings.com represents the highest achievement in Japanese architecture ever built. Inside the castle complex there are buildings that look alike and are several stories high called donjons. At the center of the complex there is one ordinary donjon that is six stories high with a series of pent roofs, undulating gables and decorative dormers. Adjacent to this donjon there are three other smaller donjons that are connected by corridors linking the turrets. In those times for defense purposes, gates were complicates by maze-like spaces to confuse the enemy and stall time for the interior citizens in case of an intrusion. The entire castle in built of stone walls and tile roofs. The design of the flared hipped roofs represents an architectural characteristic very commonly seen in Asian architecture. The stone walls served as a strong defense mechanism, but also helped to deal with the climate which was humid subtropical. While the architect of this beautiful castle in unknown, the design clearly represents the beauty of the architectural style: Medieval Japanese. Architechture in this time period took into consideration the great concern of the revival of classical models along with technical lines (Sporre 275).
Ref: 1. Reality Through the Arts, 8th Edition Dennis J. Sporre
       2. www.greatbuildings.com