Kitahanebashi-mon

In front of you is Kitahanebashi-mon, the north gate into the heart of the castle. Its name means the north drawbridge gate, and for most of the Edo period the bridge really was kept raised. Only a few metres of it were ever a true bridge. The rest is a narrow causeway of earth with water on either side. Glance both ways and you can see two moats meeting the causeway, one running east and one running west. Why so much care? Step through this gate in the 1600s and you would have been standing almost at the foot of the main keep. This was the most important point in the castle's northern defences, and the shortest way out from the keep and the shogun's private quarters. Some say it was kept as an escape route for the shogun himself. The drawbridge was fixed in place long ago. But look high up on the gate. The iron fittings that once worked the lifting gear are still there. They are a reminder that this quiet corner was once one of the castle's most closely watched doors.