Himeji Castle is the best preserved castle in all of Japan. Unlike many others, which were destroyed by war or disaster, the White Heron Castle has never been invaded or damaged and kept its original form for four hundred years. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. We were very lucky to have been given a guided tour (in English and for free) by the friendly and competent Komoto-san of the Volunteer Guide Association of Himeji Castle, who runs an electronics store during the week and explains the castle on his holidays. We learned that despite the beauty of the castle, it was a purely military structure for the Tokugawa shogunate. Its white colour is actually plaster intended to stop the wooden castle from catching fire. The main tower was never inhabited and intended as the last line of defence. During peace time, it served as a storage room.

I met some serious collectors of temple stamps in Engyouji temple on Mount Shosha near Himeji. They did not have an album to contain the seals but instead had them put on both a cloth scroll and an ornamental robe, drawing my immediate admiration. Being conscious of the fact that I have not yet advanced to their level, however, I started another album. Engyouji is number 27 of 33 holy places in Western Japan (the westernmost of them actually). I also decided that three concurrent Buddhist albums are my limit and I will not start one more before I finish one first.