Osaka Castle's Sakura Gate Masugata incorporates some of the largest megalithic stones in the castle. The most famous is the “Tako-ishi” (octopus stone), located directly in front of the Sakura-mon Gate, with a surface area of approximately 59.43 square meters. It is said that this stone was brought from Inujima in Bizen Province (present-day Higashi-ku, Okayama City) by Tadao Ikeda, who was the lord of the Okayama domain. Gigantic stones called “dragon stones” and “tiger stones” are placed on both sides of the Sakura-mon Gate. It was said in the Edo period that these stones were believed to be the images of a dragon on the right and a tiger on the left when it rained. These megaliths are presumed to have been brought from Shodoshima and Okinoshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea. These megaliths were brought in by the Tokugawa Shogunate during the reconstruction of Osaka Castle by the Tokugawa lords, who used them as a prestige symbol to show off the castle's majesty. In particular, they were placed in the Masugata, the main entrance to the castle, and served as an important defensive facility to prevent the entry of enemies.