Fujimi Tamon Defense House
A tamon generally refers to a single-storey gallery-like building that was built on the ramparts of a castle compound. It would be used for firing on attackers in wartime, and for the storing of weapons in peacetime. Believed to date from 1659, this tamon is the only one that survives. The Fujimi Tamon was so named because you could once see Mount Fuji from here. It was also called the “Gokyusoku Tamon,” because of its proximity to the shogun's daytime quarters (Gokyusoku), and might have served a special purpose.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
1. Fujimi Tamon from the Hasuike Moat
2. Floorplan based on drawings of Edo Castle in mid-seventeenth century (The Imperial Household Archives)