Nitenmon Gate 二天門

Official explanation

Nitenmon was Kinpusenji Temple’s main south gate until it burned down in 1341. The gate was used by visitors and Shugendo devotees coming from the Kumano area. It is associated with the heroic story of Murakami Yoshiteru, the loyal retainer of the fourteenth-century Prince Morinaga (1308–1335).

Prince Morinaga was the son of Emperor Go-Daigo, who allowed a ruthless regent to assume power. This infuriated the proud prince, who gathered his followers and fled from the capital to the Yoshino area in order to live free from the regent’s administration. The prince and his troops, including the hot-tempered Murakami, disguised themselves as yamabushi (practitioners of Shugendo), but eventually their settlement was discovered and attacked by forces of the regent.

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In true samurai fashion, Murakami fought fearlessly for his lord. Seeing that their troops were outnumbered and the palace was about to fall into enemy hands, Murakami disguised himself as the prince in order to distract the advancing enemy, sacrificing his own life to help the prince escape. In memory of his brave deed, Murakami is honored with a stone column located beside the spot where the Nitenmon Gate once stood.

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.