半蔵門Hanzōmon (Hanzō Gate) It’s Hanzō Time! Today’s place name is from a request from a reader who’s working near Hanzōmon Station. Thanks for your request, Nate! Anyone else who interested in making a request about Tokyo place names, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll be sure to get to it! This one is pretty much straight forward. It’s named after a famous samurai named 服部半蔵 (Hattori Hanzō). The dude is semi-mythical and even in the Edo Period he was a bit of a legend.  He was portrayed as a crucial figure in the seemingly destined rise to power … Continue reading What does Hanzomon mean?