Story about Gates by Ken Takeda, member of Himeji Rojo Lions Club
There were many gates on the castle grounds and there are still some left.
There are some interesting facts found. There are often 5 and 11 found about the numbers of the gates.
Nobody knows why.
Within the Inner Moat there are 55 gates, 5 of which are on the moat.
This fact may come from the concepts of Confucianism, which the Tokugawa Government utilized
to form an orderly feudal society. The Confucianism teaches us five basic human relationships:
loyalty between ruler and subject, affection between father and son, distinction between husband and wife,
order between elder and younger and sincerity between friends.
Within the Middle Moat there are 24 gates, 11 of which are on the moat. This may also come from a kind of guess.
The Chinese character "11" symbolizes "soldier" (
) and the combination of Chinese characters and 
forms 
.
This means "Good Luck". They may have had very positive attitude.
Within the Outer Moat there are 7 gates, 5 of which are on the moat. This may also come from the Confucianism.
It emphasizes the virtues; benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness.
There are also 6 gates named after "water". Water Gate 6 was built in Main Tower, so it is not counted.
Here again "5 "is found. It does not make any sense. It is a kind of word play.
