Doshin Bansho Guardhouse
This guardhouse is one of three that survives from the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1867). It was manned by low-ranking samurai known as doshin, or constables, hence its name. Their job was to check visitors to the castle, and to keep watch over the retinues of the feudal lords as they waited for their masters to return from inside the honmaru complex. There are three different types of crests to be seen on the roof tiles. The triple hollyhock design is the family crest of the Tokugawa. In addition, there are Imperial chrysanthemum crests and the whorl of three commas of the mitsudomoe. The mitsudomoe crest dates back to the end of the Heian Period (794–1185), and was also used to ward off fires, since it represents water.
PHOTO CAPTIONS 1. A daimyo feudal lord entering the castle. The building at the foot of the bridge is the Doshin Bansho Guardhouse. Detail from Tokugawa Seiseiroku (National Diet Library, Japan)