Kisaimon Gate

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.