Kimon Yagura

Located on the northeastern side of the inner citadel of Hiji Castle was a turret with a unique external appearance. Its outstanding feature is the missing northeast corner of the tower. (This tower's name, Kimon, means "devil's gate", a bad omen in Japan.) One explanation for the missing corner is the belief that this was removed to contain any invasion of calamity. Since the time Hiji Castle was built, this turret has lacked a corner, even down to the stone wall at its base. To rescue it from destruction at the beginning of the Meiji Era, the tower was dismantled and reconstructed inside the Nakamura Family Residence in Nio. In 2009, Hiji took over ownership from the Nakamura family, taking apart the structure and carrying out studies to preserve it. Reconstruction began in February of the following year, and it was completed on March 18, 2013. Turrets like this with a missing "devil's gate" corner are rare throughout Japan, making it a precious historical structure.