Sakashita-mon

Look across the moat to the white gate on the far side. This is Sakashita-mon, and its name means the gate at the foot of the slope. Today it is a working entrance for the Imperial Household Agency, the office that runs the life of the imperial family, and it is normally closed to the public. In 1862 this gate saw a second attack, just two years after the assassination at Sakurada-mon. The target this time was Andō Nobumasa, one of the shogun's senior councillors. He had worked to bring the shogunate and the imperial court closer together, and had helped arrange the marriage of an imperial princess to the shogun. To some samurai, that was a betrayal. Six men from Mito attacked his procession here. Andō was wounded in the back and ran alone into the castle. All six attackers died. Andō survived, but within a few months he was removed from office. Once again, the shogunate looked weaker than before. One last detail: the gate isn't facing the way it used to. When it was rebuilt in 1887, it was turned ninety degrees from its old direction.