Himeji Castle turned black "It was four dark years ..." August 4 at 8:29

Himeji Castle celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as a World Heritage Site.
It is also called "White Heron Castle" because it boasts dazzling whiteness.
But did you know that it was turned black during the Pacific War?

"Relatives and seniors were dying one after another, and those four years were dark" What is the war of the people who lived in the era of "
Black Himeji Castle"? The testimony of a 4-year-old man draws us together.

(Osaka Broadcasting Station Cameraman Mitsumasa Fukumoto)

Dazzling whiteness "White Heron Castle"

Himeji Castle is touted as a masterpiece of Japan castle architecture.
The walls and roof tiles are cemented with plaster and glow white when exposed to sunlight.
The gorgeous and beautiful figure attracts tourists from all over the world.

Outstanding whiteness is a weakness Concern about targets of enemy aircraft

The war began to expand in 1, one year before the start of the war between Japan and the United States.
The government, the army, and Himeji City discussed air defense measures for Himeji Castle.

What was of concern was the whiteness of the walls.
I thought it might be too conspicuous and easy to be detected by enemy aircraft.

The solution chosen was to change the color of the castle to black.

Since that time, the value of cultural properties has already been recognized, and Himeji Castle was designated as a former national treasure.
The use of black paint would damage the beautiful plastered walls, so they decided to cover them with a "black net".

The size of the mesh is 3 cm. Straw rope was dyed black, and a 2~4 meter square "black net" with
bamboo sticks attached to the top and bottom was hung on the wall.

There are still a few L-shaped nails left in part of the city walls.

Large-scale work "changing the color of the castle".
If it becomes an attack target, not only the castle but also private houses and factories will be damaged, and the lives of citizens will be threatened. Over the course of two years, the walls facing the south, as well as the east and west, where enemy aircraft were expected to attack, were covered in black.

Shigehiro Kudo, curator of the Himeji Municipal Castle Laboratory:
"We had just finished repairing the castle before the war, and it was a painstaking measure to minimize damage to the walls. It was a symbolic event that the world was changing more and more because of the war."

Under the "Black Himeji Castle" Rushing into War

Gondai Kuroda, 94, a former high school teacher in Himeji City.
At that time, I was attending the old junior high school on the grounds of Himeji Castle.
He said that when he saw the castle turn black, he felt that the war was approaching his daily life.

"I think it was white when I entered the school, and when it turned black, it gave me a dark impression. Looking back on it now, it must have been a bad omen."
Since then, Kuroda's black Himeji Castle has become a symbol that evokes memories of the war.

As the castle turned black, the color of war became darker in the school.
Mr. Kuroda says that he was impressed by the classes that taught soldiers how to prepare for actual battles.

Gondai
Kuroda: "On the march, raise your legs high and say, 'Keep pace!' I was strictly instructed.
"Senior students from the Navy and Air Corps would come to the morning assembly in great clothes and say, 'Believe in what will follow!' I longed for those words."

Under the black Himeji Castle, "I want you to follow us and protect the country,"

he took military training classes and was inspired by the words of his seniors, and before long, Mr. Kuroda came to think that he wanted to become a "good soldier" who would protect the country like his seniors.

"It's like a black heron castle" in the face of my grandmother's death...

But midnight on July 1945, 7. Mr. Kuroda is confronted with the harsh reality of war.
The air raids that had begun in major cities also extended to Himeji, where the munitions factories were located.
Mr. Kuroda was told by his family to "run away quickly!" and hid in the waterways of the rice fields.

Gondai
Kuroda: "The incendiary bombs fell into the paddy field in a bundle and made a scrunchievous sound, and I was scared when one fell in front of me 30~40 cm."

The incendiary bomb did not explode, and Kuroda died nine times for the rest of his life.
Although she managed to escape the air raids, her home burned to the ground, and her bedridden grandmother, whom she adored, was found as a victim of the bombing. Mr. Kuroda was 16 years old.
This epic experience completely changed Kuroda's heart, which he was aiming to become a soldier.

Gondai
Kuroda: "I dug up my grandmother's body, put it on a corrugated iron plate, took it to a small graveyard, dug a hole, and buried it.
"The air raids changed my mind, and we should stop this kind of war. I thought I should stop as soon as possible."

In the days of Black Himeji Castle, the citizens were exhausted by air defense training, labor mobilization at munitions factories, and food shortages, and they were busy surviving each day.
Mr. Kuroda, who had been proud of the "White Heron Castle" shining white, no longer felt the beauty of the castle.

Gondai
Kuroda: "I think I look up at the castle less often, and my relatives and seniors are dying in battle one after another. Those four years when the color of the castle turned black were dark." "There were whispers [in the city] that it looked like a heron castle."

Memories of the Black Castle: Passing on the tragedy of wartime to the next generation

Since retiring from teaching, Kuroda has been a storyteller every year to tell the story of his war experiences. The activity has been held more than 30 times in the past 330 years.
In July this year, I visited Himeji City Sanyo Junior High School, which is engaged in peace learning.

He told the students about the reality of the war, such as the fact that construction work to cover the castle with a black net had begun when he entered the old junior high school, that his brother, who was five years older than him, whom he respected the most,
had gone to China and was killed in battle at the young age of 7 and his remains were never returned, and that his parents broke down crying.

Finally, Mr. Kuroda sent a message to the young people who will lead the future, saying, "War is the greatest evil of mankind and we must never wage any kind of war."

When asked about his war experience, a junior high school student
said, "I've never actually seen a black net covered in it, and listening to Mr. Kuroda's story made me imagine what was happening in Himeji at that time."

I want Himeji Castle to be a "symbol of peace"

There is a scene that Mr. Kuroda still remembers vividly.
After the end of the war, the black nets standing in the burnt fields were removed.
Although the bombs were directly hit by the air raids, the fire did not spread and escaped burning.

Mr
. Gondai Kuroda: "There were many sad events due to the air raids, but the fact that the castle remained was at least a salvation. I want the White Heron Castle to be white."

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Himeji Castle's registration as a World Heritage Site. The colorful illuminations enhance the beauty, and the castle, which is visited by tourists from all over the world, is filled with the smiles of people who are enchanted by its whiteness and majesty.

However, behind the scenes, the history of the castle being turned black during the Pacific War is gradually being forgotten.

Kuroda's wish for peace is that "we must not return to the era of 'Black Himeji Castle.'"

"Black Himeji Castle" is a "symbol of war" that engraves the hardships and sorrows of people who suffered during wartime, and it makes us feel that it is a memory that should be kept in our hearts even in a peaceful era bustling with tourism.

NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station cameraman
Mitsumasa

Fukumoto joined the station in 1997 and was in charge of Arab political change at the
Cairo bureau in Egypt. After working at Kyoto and Kobe stations, he moved to Osaka in 2023. Covering the diverse attractions of his hometown of Hyogo Prefecture and Kansai.