KOMACHI'S TRAVEL GUIDE: This magnificent structure was built by the architect Kenchikuka (L11, L16) during the reign of Hantei the Fifteenth. The gates are made of stone, and each is carved with five twining dragons. There is a lever inside the tower which can easily be moved by a young child; when the lever is to the left, the doors can barely be opened by five strong men. When the lever is to the right, however, a hidden series of rollers shifts the balance of the doors - and they can be pushed open by a single person. No one is sure how Kenchikuka engineered this; the entire gate would have to be dismantled to examine the workings of the lever, and the architect only allowed the workmen to work on the mechanism for a single day each, so that no one saw all the parts. Shugenja have examined it and declare that it is not the work of awakened spirits; they've poured water into the workings and then interrogated the water spirits, but to little effect, since the interior is too dark to see the gears. It remains a mystery to this day.
The tower next to the gate is decorated with a dragon figure twining around it, and serves as the headquarters of the Thunder Guard (G10).
SHIGEKO'S DOSSIER: From the Dragon's Gate it is eleven minutes to the Residence, three minutes to the Civil Hall, four minutes to the Gate of Condescension and eleven minutes to the Pious Gate.