Shimizu-mon Gate, Tokyo

The Shimizu Mon Gate is the east gate that leads to the Edo Castle in Tokyo. It is also the east gate of the Kitanomaru garden and district.

The Shimizu Mon gate is a Masugata Mon style gate. This type of gate has a small square or plaza in front. There was a gate at the location of the present one as early as early as 1620. The present gate was rebuilt in 1658. The gate formed a part of the old Edo castle and is regarded as a structure of great cultural and historical significance in Japan. It was declared an Important Cultural Asset of the country in 1961 and is managed by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

The Shimizu Mon Gate is made of stone in traditional Japanese architectural style. It stands next to the Shimizu moat. The Yaguramon gate in front of the Shimizu Mon is a timber frame gate that has a keep with two stories built at a right angle to the Shimizu Mon. Roofed pillars stabilize the gates and a small window in the Yagura Mon helped guards to observe the possibility of an attack and gave them time to get ready to shoot. The Shimizu Mon is the last of the two remaining gates from the Edo era when the Tokugawa Shogunate flourished in the city.