At what cost?

     

Interior of Kumamoto Castle's rebuilt palace

There’s a lot of rebuilding (castle-related of course) going on around Japan these days. And unlike in the 50′s & 60′s, where designers pretty much did as they pleased, all work must be completely authentic & accurate.

Things are so strict some government bodies are offering rewards for evidence that can provide precise details of the original buildings. Many restoration projects have in fact stalled due to lack of reference materials.

Perhaps many castles would benefit from the (slight) easing of such regulations but that isn’t the cost I’ll be refering to from here on in. I got a question about the actual cost of reconstructions, and so after a bit of research (googling), came up with the following figures.

I should point out that this isn’t CNN or 60 minutes so keep in mind the figures quoted are approximate.

Where What Cost – JPY Cost – USD
Ōzu Castle Main tower ￥2,000,000,000 $22,000,000
Himeji Castle Main tower (restoration) ￥2,800,000,000 $30,900,000
Nagoya Castle Palace ￥15,000,000,000 $165,700,000
Kumamoto Castle Palace ￥5,400,000,000 $59,650,000
Saga Castle Palace ￥2,000,000,000 $22,000,000
Kumamoto Castle Iida Turret (5 story) ￥760,000,000 $8,400,000
Kumamoto Castle Inui Turret (3 story) ￥460,000,000 $5,000,000
Kumamoto Castle Hitsujisaru Turret (3 story) ￥300,000,000 $3,300,000
Kumamoto Castle Taiko Turret (1 story) ￥230,000,000 $2,500,000
Kumamoto Castle Minami Ōtemon Gate ￥610,000,000 $6,700,000
Fukuoka Castle Shimonohashi Ōtemon Gate ￥300,000,000 $3,300,000
Kanazawa Castle Imori moat ￥1,000,000,000 $11,000,000

  • http://toshogu.blogspot.com Tornadoes28

    I am glad they are trying to be a accurate to the originals as they can. I think authenticity is more important than building it quickly.

  • http://Www.thepoolofzen.com 真秀

    Wow! That’s incredible!!! It pays to be a castle reconstructor, eh. Maybe you can go into the consulting biz!

  • admin

    Absolutely, Tornadoes28. I think many people/governments are unhappy to be stuck with these aging, concrete castles. I had been reading last year that Nagoya was putting plans together to replace their Tenshu with a wooden one. That would be huge if they did that.

    I would rather see nothing (I mean just the stone foundations) than see a concrete building. They don’t age well.

  • admin

    Mr pool of Zen, I have actually considered hitch-hiking to Himeji to get a job pushing around a wheelbarrow. If I could look back on my life & say to the grand kiddies, you know what, when I was younger Zzzz… Zzzz…

    I would love to be able to tell that story. Including the bit after I woke from my sudden nap.

  • http://bushidocalling.blogspot.com/ Rad

    Some people may think that the numbers are ludicrous. But restoring the tenshu of a UNESCO site like Himeji castle is praiseworthy at the cost.

  • admin

    Hi Rad,

    I think it’s great money is being spent to get this work done. I really do. And to be completely honest, I don’t care how much gets spent – it’s not my money.

    What is ludicrous, is that Fukuoka Castle’s Shimonohashi Ōtemon, which is basically single-story, log cabin that’s the size of a one-room apartment, can cost as much as it did. It makes me wonder how much of the USD$3,300,000 went into the actual structure & how much went into meetings and “related expenses”.

    But like I said, I’m glad things are getting rebuilt.

  • http://japandave.com JapanDave

    I wish they would rebuild Okazaki castle to be more like the original. Outside it is beautiful (except the wire surrounding the balcony at the top), but inside… it is one of the typical concrete museums, but it is also without a doubt one of the *uglyest* concrete museum “castle” interiors I have been in in Japan. How did this stuff ever get approved? Maybe they thought no one would actually go inside….

  • admin

    JapanDave

    “How did this stuff ever get approved?” good question but thank goodness those days are over. As for Okazaki Castle, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clear picture of it. There always seems to be trees or other buildings in the way. It that how it is?

  • http://japandave.com JapanDave

    It’s a tough building to get a decent photo of. Trees all around it and a large shrine tight on one side. I have taken a few, but never posted them because of bad light. I’m going tomorrow to see the new building you tweeted me about, so I’ll see if I can’t snap a decent shot and tweet it to you.