HIMEJI, Japan, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Japan plans to spend more than $5 million to restore a 650-year-old castle after this year's typhoons compounded damage to its roof and outer walls.
The Himeji Castle, meaning Egret Castle, is a national treasure and a World Heritage site, located in Himeji, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Kobe in southern Hyogo prefecture. It was originally built in 1346 as a fort to defend its builder against local shoguns. In 1577 it was converted into a castle with over 30 turrets.
The repairs, to begin in 2009 and continue for three years, will focus on the roofing tiles of the castle's tower and the plaster coating of its exterior walls.
The castle's last repairs, from 1956 to 1964, when its tower was disassembled and the central pillar replaced, cost about $5.3 million. The cost of the scheduled repair work will exceed that figure, reported Yomiuri Shimbun Monday.
The Himeji municipal government, in consultation with the Cultural Affairs Agency, plans to set aside about $192,000 from its 2005 budget to research the castle's structure ahead of the repairs.
