What monomi-gōshi means
A monomi-gōshi is a lattice window in a room beside a gate, such as the attendants' room or guard room of a gatehouse, from which those inside can watch the street and the approach. It usually has closely set heavy vertical bars, making the interior hard to see from outside while giving a clear view out. It is also called a monomi-mado, lookout window.
The attendants' room housed the retainers who accompanied the master when he went out and also watched who came and went. Beyond its practical use, the lattice adds weight to the gate frontage. Similar windows include the Yorikimado, heavy bars with a small hood, and the Degōshi, a lattice projecting from the wall; records name them according to form and use.
Reading the records and the gate
Records mention it as part of a gatehouse. The gatehouse of the Okuno family in Toyonaka, Osaka, a single-storey hip-and-gable building with pantiles, has its southern half as the gateway with double plank doors at the centre and its northern half as the attendants' room; the west front of that room is weatherboarded and fitted with a monomi-gōshi, giving the estate a solid, dignified front.
Similar windows may be recorded as monomi-gōshi, yorikimado or musha-mado, and articles should keep the record's term. On site, look for a latticed window in the street-facing wall of the room beside the gate.
References
- 奥野家住宅門長屋｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007269
Last verified: 2026.09.27