What a kugurido is
A kugurido is a small doorway set beside or within the main leaves of a gate. The main doors open only for carts and goods; everyday passage uses the small one.
The structure field records it in a set phrase. A gate at Higashi Honganji in Kyoto is entered as a three-bay Yakuimon with one opening, Hongawarabuki, flanking walls attached, and a wicket door. The phrase sits among the other specifications of the gate.
The gatehouse at the Hiramatsu Residence in Wakayama Prefecture, from the late Edo period, is described as opening its gate just south of centre with double doors of single zelkova boards and one of these hung to the north of them.
Stone gates have them too. The gate and stone wall at the Sato Residence in Iwate Prefecture, from the late Taisho period, are described as a gate of two granite main posts and a single supporting post for the wicket, its doors since replaced. A whole post was added for the small door.
A second term
Records also use another Japanese word for a small door beside the main opening. The Tsutsui gate at Matsuyama Castle, reconstructed in 1971, is described as a Yaguramon with such a door set between stone walls, and the iron-banded gate at the same castle as one bay with one opening and the same fitting.
Both words name a small door beside the main leaves. Castle records tend to one and temple or house records to the other, but the division is not strict, so quoting the record's own word is the safer course.
Gates in a Roji use them as well. The inner wicket gate at the Kamiya Residence in Aichi Prefecture, from the early Showa period, is described as a single-bay bracket gate 1.7 metres wide, Kirizuma-zukuri with a copper roof and a sliding wicket. The Japanese name of the gate itself refers to passing through on the way along the garden.
On site, look beside the main doors. A separately hung door wide enough for one person is the feature, usually with a high sill to step over.
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Registered tangible cultural properties (structures)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/toroku_yukei.html
- National Cultural Properties Database: Higashi Honganji gatehouse, 230.02 square metres over two storeys
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00005517
- National Cultural Properties Database: Hiramatsu Residence gatehouse, barred windows cut in its earthen walls
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009203
- National Cultural Properties Database: Sato Residence gate and stone wall, chamfer-edged granite below and bush-hammered tuff above
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003030
- National Cultural Properties Database: Matsuyama Castle Tsutsui gate, a turret gate between stone walls with loopholes across its front
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014299
- National Cultural Properties Database: Kamiya Residence inner wicket gate, shaping the character of the tea garden
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009290
Last verified: 2026.09.10