Osuzu Corridor - Osuzurouka

Within Edo Castle, this passageway runs from Nakaoku, where the Shogun lived, to Ooku, where the kitchen and concubines lived. It was so named because a bell was rung to signal entry and exit. The Shogun would enter through a winding tatami corridor, 2 ken wide and 15 ken long, called Kami Gosuzu Corridor, through which he would be greeted by ladies-in-waiting, after opening a normally sealed cedar door called Ojoguchi. In addition, there was Shimo Gosuzu Corridor on the east side, which was added during the reconstruction after the Great Fire of Meireki (1657), and was used as an evacuation exit in the event of a disaster. It is said that in the case of a great feudal lord such as Kaga, who had a fief of one million koku, there was also an Ojoguchi at the boundary between the front and back, and a Gosuzu corridor where a bell was rung to signal the lord's entry and exit, but these examples are rare.

[Fumio Inagaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸城内、将軍の生活の場である中奥(なかおく)から、御台所(みだいどころ)・側室(そくしつ)の居室のある大奥への通路で、出入りの際に鈴を鳴らして合図をしたためこうよばれる。普段は密閉してある御錠口(おじょうぐち)という杉戸をあけさせ、将軍が奥女中の出迎えを受けて入る幅2間、長さ15間の曲がりくねった畳廊下で、上(かみ)御鈴廊下という。ほかに、明暦(めいれき)の大火（1657）後再建の際に増設した下(しも)御鈴廊下が東側にあり、災害時の避難口として使用した。また、加賀百万石のごとき大大名の場合、表と奥の境目にお錠口、鈴を鳴らして殿様の出入りを合図する御鈴廊下もあったというが、例は少ない。

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