A Gate for Honoured Guests
The Saito Family Residence East Gate (齋藤家住宅東門, Saitō-ke Jūtaku Higashimon) is a timber gate from the final decades of the Edo period (1830 to 1868) on the eastern side of the Saito family compound in Funatsucho, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 29, 2016, under number 18-0165. It has a tiled roof and is 2.2 metres wide.
It stands between the entrance court of the main house and the garden to the east, facing the long shed. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it was built so that honoured guests could be received into the reception wing of the main house.
Why It Was Registered
The Saito Family Residence East Gate was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Its significance lies in its partnership with the reception wing of the main house.
That wing is said to have been built for a visit by the domain lord, and it dates from the same late Edo years as the gate. Giving guests an entrance of their own on the garden side, separate from the door the household used, underlines how formal those reception rooms were meant to be.
What to Look For
The gate is an udegimon, a bracket-arm gate: cross-arms project front and back from the main posts to carry the little roof, and rear support posts keep the whole frame steady. It is a light, graceful type often used for inner gates.
The main timbers are keyaki (Japanese zelkova), and the doors are studded with decorative metalwork, including hasso fittings, the long strap hinges that hold the door boards together and here double as ornament. It is a finer finish than an inner gate usually receives, as suits a gate meant for guests.
Visiting
The East Gate is privately owned and stands inside the front gate, in the entrance court of the main house. Visitors cannot enter the grounds, so it cannot be seen up close.
Keep to what can be glimpsed through the front gate from the public road. Directions are on the Saito Family Residence page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Saito Family Residence East Gate
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Saito Family Residence East Gate?
- It stands inside a private compound, so it cannot be seen up close; at most it can be glimpsed through the front gate from the road.
- What was the Saito Family Residence East Gate for?
- It was built to receive honoured guests into the reception wing of the main house, and it separates the entrance court from the garden to the east.
- When was the Saito Family Residence East Gate built?
- In the final decades of the Edo period (1830 to 1868).
- What type of gate is the east gate of the Saito house in Sabae?
- A bracket-arm gate (udegimon) with rear support posts, 2.2 metres wide, built mainly of zelkova, with doors decorated with hasso strap fittings and other ornamental metalwork.
- Why is the Saito Family Residence East Gate a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2016 for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Saito Family Residence East Gate (齋藤家住宅東門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1421 Funatsucho 4-chome, Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2016/11/29 (Heisei 28) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber bracket-arm gate, tiled roof, 2.2 metres wide |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Closed (inside the grounds) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Saito Family Residence East Gate (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011298
- Sabae City: Saito Family Residence East Gate (Japanese)
- https://www.city.sabae.fukui.jp/kosodate_kyoiku/manabenoyakata/bunkazai/sabae_bunkazai/kenzoubutu/tourokuyuukei/18-0165-touroku.html
Last verified: 2026.09.25
