Nozatomon Gate

Northern entrance to Himeji’s inner castle town. It was named for Nozato-machi, a neighborhood of metalworkers whose formation is thought to predate the castle renovations commissioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) in 1581. The gate opened onto the Tajima Kaido, a highway that ran through the center of Nozato-machi. Nozatomon Gate sat here at a zigzag-like bend in the moat. It consisted of two double-doored gateways separated by an inner courtyard. A storehouse topped the larger inner gate, which stood at a right angle to the east-facing outer gate. Many of the original stone walls in this area are buried under modern roads and buildings.