| Of the many guardhouses (''bansho'') which once stood within the grounds, three survive. The ''hyakunin bansho'', ''dôshin bansho'', and ''Ôbansho'' which survive today all stand between the Naka-no-mon and Chûjakumon gates. The Ôbansho was guarded by the higher-ranking guards (''[[yoriki]]'' and ''[[doshin|dôshin]]''), and was the chief guardhouse before the Chûjakumon, which led directly into the ''honmaru''.<ref>Plaques on-site at guardhouse.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/17577043974/]</ref> The guards of the ''Hyakunin bansho'' and ''Dôshin bansho'', meanwhile, were charged with the security of the area around the ''gejôba'' (the spot where most entering the castle were obliged to dismount), including the walkways from the Ôtemon to the Naka-no-mon.<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Edo jidai - shogun bushi tachi no jitsuzô'', Tokyo shoseki (2008), 70.</ref> | | Of the many guardhouses (''bansho'') which once stood within the grounds, three survive. The ''hyakunin bansho'', ''dôshin bansho'', and ''Ôbansho'' which survive today all stand between the Naka-no-mon and Chûjakumon gates. The Ôbansho was guarded by the higher-ranking guards (''[[yoriki]]'' and ''[[doshin|dôshin]]''), and was the chief guardhouse before the Chûjakumon, which led directly into the ''honmaru''.<ref>Plaques on-site at guardhouse.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/17577043974/]</ref> The guards of the ''Hyakunin bansho'' and ''Dôshin bansho'', meanwhile, were charged with the security of the area around the ''gejôba'' (the spot where most entering the castle were obliged to dismount), including the walkways from the Ôtemon to the Naka-no-mon.<ref>Yamamoto Hirofumi, ''Edo jidai - shogun bushi tachi no jitsuzô'', Tokyo shoseki (2008), 70.</ref> |
| + | The Naka-no-mon was rebuilt after the 1657 fire by [[Hosokawa Tsunatoshi]], lord of [[Kumamoto han]], and though damaged in a [[1703]] earthquake and restored the following year by [[Ikeda Yoshiyasu]], is considered to still date to that [[1658]] reconstruction.<ref>"Facts Revealed by Demolition Work," plaque on-site at Naka-no-mon.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/18173205156/sizes/k/]</ref> |