October 30, 2012
Chase's Edo Tokyo Museum thoughts
On Wednesday the International Department went to the Edo Tokyo History Museum, which was very fun and interesting.
While we were there we saw many different exhibits and learned lots of new things, but one thing did interest me a lot. In the residences of the Daimyo, the feudal lords of Japan during the Edo period, there were three gates to enter instead of one. Each gate would be used only be designated people. The plain one, used by common warriors or samurai, the second was used by the Daimyo and his family, and the third was only allowed to be used by the Shogun.
The Shoguns gate, of course, was the most decorated out of the three of them and I thought it was interesting that the Shogun was so highly regarded in the feudal society that he would have special entrances for him to enter and leave.