Measurement of the square-shaped drum gate at Matsumoto Castle

YAMAMOTO Yuji, YOKOYAMA Keiko, OKUMURA Motoki, KIJIMA Akifumi, SHIMA Hiroyuki

doi:10.18999/njhpfs.46.1.24

In this study, we measured the square-shaped drum gate (taiko-mon masugata) at Matsumoto Castle in Nagano, Japan. This structure, which consists of an inner and an outer gate, was developed in the Middle Ages to defend the castle against enemy attacks; it was considered to offer superior protection because its design allowed defending soldiers to strike potential invaders efficiently. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the gate through a literature survey and field investigation, followed by analysis using a social-force model designed to study pedestrian dynamics. The castle has three types of square double gate, each designed to counter movement from a different direction: left-hand turns, right-hand turns, and straight movement. The original drum gate is thought to have been constructed in 1593 by Yasunaga Ishikawa, and it was reconstructed in 1999. Although the old literature suggests that the rectangle was 9.8 m (5 ken) wide and 15.8 m (8 ken) deep in general, its width and depth at Matsumoto Castle were approximately 20 and 12.3 m, respectively. These dimensions made it broader than necessary for defense during war; however, they maintained the desired aspect ratio of 1.6:1. The width of the inner gate (ichi-nomon) was 4.00 m, and that of the outer gate (ni-no-mon) was 4.98 m, which are inconsistent with previous reports in the literature. The gate requires more precise measurement, followed by mathematical modeling and behavioral experiments based on such measurements.

Measurement of the square-shaped drum gate at Matsumoto Castle

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