Kagami-Ishi

A Samurai Castle Symbol of Authority

One of the things that a true samurai castle aficionado will look out for when visiting a Japanese castle, is a large stone within the ishigaki stone walls known as the kagami-ishi, the Mirror Stones. These particular stones are easy to find but are often overlooked. They are the biggest, most impressive looking rock of all, and are usually found around the castle gates and entranceways! The kagami-ishi’s role was…to be impressive! It was a sign of authority! Only a lord of great power and means could afford to have such a huge rock sourced, brought to the castle site, and placed like this within the walls. This was obviously someone to be reckoned with. If a lord could afford such extravagance in their castle stone walls, then they had more than enough samurai and weapons at their disposal. They were Powerful! It was also a regarded as a mark of respect to recognize these stones on first entering a castle.