«AD Classics: Himeji Castle / Ikeda Terumasa». ArchDaily (på engelsk). 30. mai 2017. Besøkt 27. april 2021. «Under Nobunaga and Hideyoshi’s reigns, Japan entered its Azuchi-Momoyama period, named for two castles built respectively by the two leaders. It was a time of sumptuously gilded wall paintings, elaborate folding screens, and the rise of the Japanese tea ceremony. The spread of castles across the Japanese archipelago between 1580 and 1630 remains one of the most prominent remnants of this cultural epoch, with many of the cities that formed around evolving into provincial capitals. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, rule over Japan passed not to his son, but to rival daimyo Tokugawa Ieyasu, who subsequently appointed his brother-in-law Ikeda Terumasa as governor of the western provinces. It was in 1609, at the height of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, that Terumasa chose Himeji as his seat of power – and set about creating a castle worthy of the city’s newfound status.»
columbia.edu
«Himeji : History». www.columbia.edu. Besøkt 27. april 2021. «In 1601, Ikeda Terumasa (1564-1613) was handed control of Himeji Castle as a gift for his support of Ieyasu Tokugawa in the Sekigahara battle against the Toyotomi Daimyo. He intended to model the castle after the emperor's own castle at Azuchi. He undertook a nine year construction program, at the end of which Himeji Castle assumed its present day form. The area which Terumasa ruled over, the districts of Harima, Bizen, and Awaji, was filled with sympathizers of the Toyotomi clan. Thus Himeji Castle played a crucial role in enabling Terumasa to assert his rule over the districts. Some historians believe over 25,000,000 man days were spent on the construction of the castle, which included a five-storied tenshu and a middle and outer moat. Materials from Hideyoshi's old fortress were used in the construction of the castle which was ironically used to prevent Hideyoshi's son from communicating with the lords in the west. Several families took control of the castle after Terumasa, including the Honda, Okudaira, Matsudaira, Sakakibara, and Sakai.»
