From the back of the card: Himaji Castle, also known as "The Castle of the White Heron". It was constructed in 1609. It is well known for its sugar cake appearance and delicate design, almost like a fairy story castle.
Rather more prosaically this cards says: Cherry blossoms, Himeji Castle, World Heritage.
Himeji Castle, know also as either "White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle", in Japan is on top of a hill. It was rebuilt in 1609 on the site of an earlier fort dating from 1333. It escaped bombing during WWII and again remained undamaged after the earthquake in 1995. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and is one of the most visited sites in Japan.
The first card is dated 1971. I bought it in a local flea market thinking how lovely it was, then this morning the second one, equally beautiful, landed on my doormat. So I promptly changed my mind about today's post for Our Wonderful World. To me they show a combination of the beauty of nature and man's ability to produce beauty from building materials.
Click on the button to visit Jocelyn's cuckootree to take part in Our Wonderful World Tuesday.
Beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I think so too. :)
DeleteCastle of the White Heron... doesn't that just sound so romantic? I love names like that. And a design to match too. Don't you love serendipity? Not many accidents are happy ones ^_~
ReplyDeleteI do love serendipity. I find it very satisfying for some reason.
DeleteI can imagine a lovely wedding there with a cake styled to look like the castle.
ReplyDeleteIt does lend itself to being a model for a wedding cake. How pretty!
DeleteBeautiful cards and how lovely to receive the second one.
ReplyDeleteIt delighted me when the second arrived!
DeleteJapan is a beautiful place and I never tire of seeing pictures from there.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful and so different!
DeleteOh! For some reason, I was expecting a German castle when i clicked on the title. I'm certainly not disappointed though. This castle is just lovely and it has such a beautiful, classic style of architecture that I am surprised it was only built in 1969. Oh, well, thank goodness I'm not a book keeper with that numerical transposition of figures (I am a book keeper and am very happy I don't do that in my job). I read that as 1969 twice. Right... 1609. That is better. That is the kind of era I thought it looked like it was built in!
ReplyDeleteI always hesitate when I use the word castle because I always think of stone built medieval castles, but that is how it's described. I'd be more inclined to say "palace".
DeleteWhen I read 1969 in your reply, I thought that I was the one who had made the mistake - and I wouldn't be entirely surprised. :)
Timeless, must be wonderful to be there at cherry blossom time. The next best is seeing the postcards.
ReplyDelete