What Is the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate?
The Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate (小原家住宅旧長屋門, Obara-ke Jūtaku Kyū-Nagayamon) is a single-storey timber building on the southern edge of the Obara estate in Nanjo, Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, built in the late Edo period (1751 to 1830), altered in the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897), and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 June 2017. It covers 23 square meters.
As its name says, it was once a Nagayamon: a long gatehouse in which the passage through the gate is flanked by living quarters or storerooms, a common front for well-to-do farmhouses and samurai residences in the Edo period. What survives of the Obara nagayamon is the gate passage and the living quarters to its west.
What Remains
In its present form the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate measures 6.4 by 3.7 meters under a tiled Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, only the passage and the western quarters remain, so the building no longer shows the full length of the original gatehouse.
Stone paving is still in place on the floor of the old passage, the surface people and carts once crossed. Though it no longer serves as the way in, the paving marks where the entrance to the estate used to be.
The roof is framed with a double tier of tie beams, one set above another to carry the load. The agency's description reads this as a sign that the gatehouse was once a solidly built structure.
A Shifting Entrance
Just east of the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate stands the Front Gate, built in the mid-Meiji period. The alterations to the old gatehouse are dated to the same period, so both gates were worked on at roughly the same time. The sources consulted do not record when the role of main entrance passed from one to the other.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the building as a surviving nagayamon that shows how the estate's landscape changed over time. It was registered as number 12-0223 for its contribution to the historic landscape, and together with the Meiji gate beside it, it still defines the southern edge of the grounds.
Visiting
The Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate is privately owned, and neither its interior nor the grounds behind it are open.
The building sits on the southern boundary of the lot and faces the outside of the estate. If you look at it, do so from the road and do not enter the private property.
Q&A
- When was the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate built?
- In the late Edo period (1751 to 1830). It was altered in the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897).
- Which parts of the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate survive?
- The gate passage and the living quarters on its west side. Stone paving remains in the old passage.
- How large is the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate and how is it built?
- It measures 6.4 by 3.7 meters, with a building area of 23 square meters, under a hipped roof framed with a double tier of tie beams.
- When did the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 28 June 2017, as registration number 12-0223.
- Can visitors see the Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate?
- The grounds are private and closed. The building stands on the southern edge of the lot, facing the outside of the estate.
Basic Information
| Name | Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate (小原家住宅旧長屋門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 54 Nanjo, Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registration no. 12-0223 |
| Year Designated | Registered 28 June 2017 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber structure, tiled roof, 6.4 meters by 3.7 meters, building area 23 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00011643
- Cultural Heritage Online: Obara Family Residence Former Nagayamon Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/300669
- Obara Family Residence: Main House, Detached Wing, Rice Storehouse, Document Storehouse, Former Nagayamon Gate, Front Gate (Tateyama City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.tateyama.chiba.jp/syougaigaku/page100122.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28
