Babasaki-mon

You're at the spot where Babasaki-mon once stood. Nothing of the gate is left, and the reason is a sad one. The gate was built in 1629 as a heavily defended masugata, a box of walls between two gates. Its name comes from a baba, a horse-riding ground. In 1635 the shogun Iemitsu watched envoys from Korea show off their horsemanship on a riding ground set up here, and the area was named after that show. Almost three hundred years later, in 1904, crowds poured through here to celebrate a victory in the war against Russia. The tight walls of the gate became a trap. People were crushed, and twenty died. Afterwards the walls and the bridge were taken down, and a wide road was built in their place. Look at the road around you, and the moat with its stone walls stretching away to the north. That is all the old castle has left here. That brings us to the end of the walk. Thanks for joining. If you've heard every story, you've circled all of Edo Castle. If not, the other stops are waiting on the map. Either way, the moats still keep the palace apart from the city.