Shimizu-mon

You're standing at Shimizu-mon, a gate that has guarded this corner of the castle since 1658. Look for the metal fittings on the outer gate. One of them is engraved with that year, when the gate was rebuilt after the Great Fire of Meireki. The gate gave its name to a branch of the ruling Tokugawa family. From 1759 the Shimizu branch lived just inside these walls. In 1862, an imperial princess on her way to marry the shogun is said to have passed through here with her bridal procession. When the age of the shoguns ended, soldiers of the Imperial Guard moved into barracks on the other side. From 1904 the gate was kept shut. It stayed closed for sixty years, until it was opened again for the Tokyo Olympics of 1964. As you pass through, notice the sharp turn between the outer and inner gates. This small square, called a masugata, was built to trap attackers and slow them down. Today it simply makes you pause for a moment, and that is a good moment to look up at the old timber and stone.