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More information about The Main Gate of the Mint as it was at the Time of its Founding
The two gateposts decorated alternatively with chrysanthemum crests and the Chinese character "dai" (meaning large) are the main gate standing in those days of 1871 when the Mint wa founded.
The octagonal structures were designed by English architect and engineer Thomas James Waters, who also built the SENPUKAN, one of the oldest European-style structures in Japan, having been used as a reception hall for the Mint at the time of its founding. These structures were used as guardhouses for main gate guards.
From the time of the founding to about 1919, soldiers dispatched from the Osaka regiment were stationed as guards at the Mint.
