Rajōmon

Marker at site of Rashōmon, Kyoto

Rajōmon (羅城門),^[1] also called Rashōmon (羅生門), was the gate built at the southern end of the monumental Suzaku Avenue in the ancient Japanese cities of Heijō-kyō (Nara) and Heian-kyō (Kyoto), in accordance with the Chinese grid-patterned city layout. At the other far north-end of Suzaku Avenue, one would reach the Suzakumon Gate, the main entrance to the palace zone. As of 2007, the southern end of Suzaku Avenue and the possible remainder of the equivalent gate in Fujiwara-kyō (Kashihara) are yet to be discovered.

Name

The gate's name in modern Japanese is Rajōmon. Rajō (羅城) refers to city walls and mon (門) means "gate," so Rajōmon signifies the main city gate. Originally, this gate was known as Raseimon or Raiseimon, using alternate readings for the kanji in the name.^[2] The name Rashōmon, using the kanji 羅生門 (which can also be read Raseimon), was popularized by a noh play Rashōmon (c.1420) written by Kanze Nobumitsu (1435–1516).^[2][3]

The modern name, Rajōmon, uses the original kanji (羅城門 rather than 羅生門) and employs the more common reading for the second character (jō instead of sei).

Rashōmon in Kyoto (Heian-kyō)

Possible appearance of the gate, miniature model

Another view of the Rashōmon, with a playground in the background

The Rashōmon in Kyoto was the grander of the two city gates built during the Heian Period (794–1185). Built in 789, it was 106 feet (32 m) wide by 26 feet (7.9 m) high, with a 75-foot (23 m) stone wall and topped by a ridge-pole. By the 12th century it had fallen into disrepair and had become an unsavory place, with a reputation as a hideout for thieves and other disreputable characters. People would abandon corpses and unwanted babies at the gate.

The ruined gate is the central setting — and provides the title — for Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story Rashōmon and hence for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film. Akutagawa's use of the gate was deliberately symbolic, with the gate's ruined state representing the moral and physical decay of Japanese civilization and culture. According to one legend, it was even inhabited by the demon Ibaraki Dōji.^[4]

Today, not even a foundation stone of the gate remains. A stone pillar marks the place where it once stood, just northeast of the intersection of Kujō street and Senbon Street or Senbon Avenue (千本通, Senbon Dōri) (formerly Suzaku street), a short walk west from the Heian-period temple Tō-ji. This stretch of Kujō is designated Route 171, and is just west of Route 1. A wooden sign written in Japanese and English explains the history and significance of the gate. The site is behind a nondescript shop on Kujō street, and sits directly next to a small playground. Though a nearby bus stop is named Rajōmon, those unfamiliar with the area are likely to miss the Rashōmon site. It can be partially seen peeking out from behind a slide on Google street view.

Rajōmon in Nara (Heijo-kyō)

The Rajōmon in Nara stood about 4 km south to the Suzakumon of Heijō Palace. Their foundation stones were found in the excavations conducted between 1969 and 1972. From the remaining foundations, the width of the gate is estimated to have been 41.5 m.

Some of the foundation stones were reused in the 16th century by Toyotomi Hidenaga, who was expanding his castle in Kōriyama.^[5]

See also

• Suzakumon, the southern gate on ancient palace grounds

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rajōmon.

Coordinates: 34°58′45.70″N 135°44′33.40″E / 34.9793611°N 135.7426111°E / 34.9793611; 135.7426111