Huge miniature castle built by ONE MAN
ID: LAB-01-0006
Format: HD
Description

In Mie Precture, Japan, stands a 1/23 sized Miniature Himeji Castle. As many castle fans know the real Himeji Castle is known as a World Heritage Site and National Treasure. ???The Lord of the Castle??? as we call him, Hiroyasu Imura (78 years old), says he built a small replica of Himeji Castle when he was in 8th grade, and that memory stuck with him, leading him to make a bigger castle as an adult. He remembered his childhood dream when his wife gave him a book about Himeji Castle for his 47th birthday. Then, he started studying architecture at the library and visited the real Himeji Castle many times. In 1989, he finally started construction on his own Himeji Castle.<br /><br />As he studied, he learned how to use concrete, bolts, nuts, fiber reinforced plastics(FRP), and other materials necessary to build a high quality replica. Throughout the process he worked hard to realize the smallest of details so as to make it as close to the real thing as possible. Not only are the proportions completely accurate, but even the number of stairs are exactly the same as the real castle. He even went above and beyond to replicate the trees and moss around the castle, adding samurai and animal dolls as well, in order to create a life-like atmosphere. Mrs. Imura took a pottery lesson to make the dolls.<br /><br />He finished the castle in March, 2007. It cost him 18 million yen and took 19 years in all to build.<br /><br />This castle, built by the romanticism of one man, still amazes and enchants onlookers years after its creation.

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