akazumon 不開門

Also called akazu-no-mon 不開門 or ikanmon 偉鑒門. Lit. closed gate. Legend has it that after Emperor Kazan 花山 (984-986) retired, he went through this gate. Thereafter, it was not opened again.

1　A gate used only for emergencies or for extraordinary occasions. See *chokushimon 勅使門.

2　A gate that is never opened due to ominous associations or superstition. The most well-known example is the east gate, Higashimon 東門 of Kyōōgokokuji 教王護国寺 in Kyoto, which was built 1191. Tradition has it that Nitta Yoshisada 新田義貞 (1301-38), a samurai 侍 who fought alongside and then escaped from Ashikaga Takauji 足利尊氏 (1305-58) in 1336, went through this gate, closing it behind him. Since then, the gate supposedly has never been opened. Thus, it is commonly called akazumon. Structurally, it is an eight-legged gate *hakkyakumon 八脚門, three-bays wide with a one-bay opening, made in *wayō 和様. It is exactly the same type of gate as three other gates at Kyōōgokokuji, all built at the end of the 12th century. The other three gates are the lotus gate *Rengemon 蓮華門; the congratulatory gate *Keigamon 慶賀門; and the main north gate, Hokudaimon 北大門. No such superstition is attached to the latter three gates. These gates are all eight-legged with three bays, one entrance, and a single story. The roofs are gabled and covered with tile.