Karametesuji and Uzumimon

The path with this signboard is called the “karametesuji”.

There were two pathways in the castle tower bailey of Hamamatsu castle: the main path called the “ōtesuji” which passes through the Tenshumon, the front gate of the castle, and the back path called the “karametesuji” which passes through the Uzumimon gate.

As the ōtesuji paths were generally used by the castle lord or guests, the gates for this path were often large and magnificent.

On the other hand, the karametesuji path was used for daily work or as escape routes during emergencies so the karametesuji gate was often small and inconspicuous.

The Uzumimon gate was built in the gap between the stone walls on this hill. Uzumimon gates are designed to be embedded in between the stone walls.

Judging from the gap of the stone walls, the gate was probably around 4m wide.

The illustration shows an earthen wall surrounding the castle tower bailey that also covered the upper part of the Uzumimon.