Kisaimon Gate 喜斎門

Official explanation

Kisaimon Gate was the rear entrance to Himeji Castle. It stood here, at the spot where the fortress’s spiral-shaped moat completes its first loop around the keep and other central fortifications. Nearby were two warehouses that stored rice: the domain’s annual tax collection and the rice used to pay vassals’ stipends. Because of the Kisaimon Gate’s proximity to these warehouses, samurai who served the daimyo lords of Himeji used it when they came to collect their stipends; these were paid in rice, promissory notes, or some combination of the two. Residents also used the Kisaimon Gate when visiting Osakabe Shrine, which housed the castle’s guardian deity.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.