蛤御門
この門の蛤御門という名前は、御所内の邸宅の多くを炎上させた大火にちなんでいます。火が燃え盛ったとき、焼きはまぐりが口を開けるようにこの門が開き、それによって御所の住人たちが外に逃れることができたといいます。
この門は禁門の変（別名蛤御門の変）の舞台としても有名です。1864年、江戸時代の終わり頃に、尊王攘夷派、すなわち天皇のもとに政治的実権を取り戻し、外国人を排斥しようとする思想の信奉者たちが反乱を起こし、御所に押し入ろうとしたのです。現在でもこの門の風化した梁には、反逆者達が退けられたときに起こった戦闘の際の銃弾の跡を見ることができます。
Hamaguri Gomon Gate
The gate acquired its name Hamaguri Gomon (“Clam Gate”) after a great fire burnt down many of the buildings within the compound. As the fire raged, this gate is said to have opened up like a clam tossed on the flames, allowing residents to flee.
This gate is also famed as the site of the Kinmon Incident (Kinmon no Hen), also known as the Imperial Gate Incident. In 1864, near the end of the feudal Edo period (1603–1868), the Sonno Joi party, who aimed to restore the power of the emperor and expel those they saw as barbarian foreigners, rose in rebellion and attempted to storm the palace. It is still possible to see the bullet marks left in the weathered beams by the fighting that took place as the rebels were repulsed.
