Obansho - Obansho

According to documents from the Shogunate's Construction Bureau, there were 26 gates in the outer bailey and more than 10 gates in the inner bailey (kuruwa), but the specific details of the 36 are not necessarily clear because of changes over the years (figure). Both the outer bailey and the inner bailey were important gates from a military perspective, and a small guardhouse was located in front of the masu-gata, which you entered through the Korean gate from the outside, and a large guardhouse was located in front of the masu-gata, which you entered through the large gate under the bridge tower, and guarded by samurai day and night. Most of these gates were located inside the bridges over the moat, so they were important transportation routes not only for samurai going up and down the castle, but also for townspeople going in and out of Edo and various goods. After the mid-Edo period, when the military aspect faded, the area around Mitsuke, which is outside the gates, literally became a bustling townscape as a temple town.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Obansho" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…幕府作事方の資料によれば外曲輪（そとぐるわ）は26門，内曲輪は10門以上あり(曲輪)，年代による変化もあるので，36の具体的内容は必ずしも明らかでない(図)。これらは外曲輪，内曲輪とも軍事上，重要な門であり，外から高麗門をくぐって升形に入った正面に小番所，升形から渡櫓（わたりやぐら）下の大門を抜けた正面に大番所が置かれ，警固の武士が昼夜詰めていた。これらの御門はほとんどが堀に架けられた橋の内側にあるので，登･下城の武士のみでなく，江戸に出入りする町人たちやさまざまな物資の出入りする交通の要所でもあり，軍事的色彩のうすれた江戸時代中期以降は，御門の外側である見附周辺は，文字どおり門前町として繁華な町並みができた。…

※「大番所」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報