5. Justification for inclusion in the World Heritage List a) Reasons for which the property is considered to meet one or more of the World Heritage criteria with, as appropriate, a comparative evaluation of the property in relation to other properties of a similar type

The beginning of the seventeenth century, when Himeji-jo was built, was the peak of the castle construction in Japan. Examples of all of the essential components of Japanese castle architecture exist at Himeji-jo and all are well conserved; the major elements include the many types of fortified buildings, walls and gates as well as stone ramparts and moats. This castle may be called the best example of this type of structure, unique to Japan, which shows highly developed defensive planning principles and ingenious devices for protection. In this sense, the property meets criterion IV. The beginning of the seventeenth century was a time of feudalism in Japan when shoguns and feudal lords ruled the country. The feudal lords competed to construct large-scale castles in order to demonstrate their power. Among these castles, Himeji-jo is the greatest remaining example of castle architecture, and its magnificent design well reflects the characteristics of the period when it was built. Himeji-jo is thus an important property in the sense that it can enhance the understanding of the Japanese culture of that time. In this respect it meets criterion III. The design of the buildings of Himeji-jo is very unique. On the one hand, the exterior of the individual buildings and the surrounding walls is covered with thick plaster and coated with a white lime finish, giving an impression of unity and simplicity in terms of material and color. On the other hand, the overall composition of structures is made very complex by the positioning of building volumes, further articulated by multiple layers of roof projections, giving an impression which is quite far from simple. As the name Shirasagi-jo (White Heron Castle) implies, the degree of aesthetic perfection in Japan is at its highest among its wooden structures such as Himeji-jo, and wooden architecture of this quality is very rare in the world. In this sense, the property meets criterion I.

b) Evaluation of the property's present state of preservation as compared with similar properties elsewhere

Castles have been built all over the world, and many of these buildings remain today, but the majority of castle structures were constructed of either stone or brick. Of the castles built in Japan from the sixteenth to the seventeenth centuries that still remain today, the major structures, with the exception of the moats and stone walls, are all made of wood and their outer earthen walls are plastered. For this reason, the architectural style and design of these castles are very important because of the rarity of this type of castle construction. Compared with the other remaining castles in Japan, the design of the entire group of buildings at Himeji-jo -- particularly the composition of the buildings in the donjon complex and the design of the white plastered walls -- is generally considered superior to that of other castles. These buildings, showing the typical elements of castles construction including the donjon, keeps, towers, gates and plastered earthen walls, are the best preserved and are appropriate examples to represent the cultural heritage of Japan.

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