Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate

Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate: A Lattice Gate and Two-Faced Wall

A late-Meiji lattice gate for the retirement house forecourt at the Fujiu estate in Kiryu, Gunma; its 10-meter wall is plastered on one side, boarded on the other.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate: A Gate Within the Grounds

The Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate (藤生家住宅中門, Fujiu-ke Jūtaku Chūmon) is a late Meiji-era timber gate set in a wall that encloses the forecourt of the retirement house at the Fujiu family estate in Hirosawa-chō, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, registered together with 10 meters of that wall as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

It is a bracket-arm gate one ken (1.8 meters) wide with a gabled pantile roof, closed by a pair of sliding lattice doors. The attached wall starts at the east end of the retirement house front and turns a corner, running for 10 meters in all. Where the front gate guards the estate from the road, the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate draws a second, inner boundary inside it.

Why It Was Registered: A Wall With Two Faces

The Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country, and what the Agency for Cultural Affairs picks out is the treatment of its wall.

The east face is white Shikkui plaster over a clapboard base. The west face changes at the gate: north of it the clay is left at the intermediate coat, south of it the surface is covered in vertical boards. In effect, the side facing the main house wears formal white plaster, while the side facing the retirement house garden is finished in plainer clay and timber. One short wall presents two different characters depending on where you stand.

Details to Notice

Lattice doors let light and glimpses pass even when closed. Compared with the solid board doors of the front gate, the lattice of the Fujiu Middle Gate is a gentler kind of barrier, suited to dividing space inside a household rather than keeping the outside world out.

The retirement house was enlarged in the late Meiji era, the same period to which the middle gate is dated. It seems likely that the idea of giving the retirement house its own gated garden took shape at that time.

Visiting the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate

The Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate lies inside the compound, between the main house and the retirement house, and cannot be seen properly from the road. The grounds are a private home and are not open, so visitors cannot approach it.

If you come to see the Fujiu estate, please stay on the public road outside the front gate.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate; [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]

Q&A

QWhere is the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate?: AIt opens in the wall enclosing the forecourt of the retirement house, between the main house and the retirement house. The wall turns a corner from the east end of the retirement house front.

QHow large is the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate?: AThe gate is one ken (1.8 meters) wide, and the wall registered with it is 10 meters long.

QHow do the two sides of the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate wall differ?: AThe east face is white plaster with a clapboard base. On the west face, the part north of the gate is plain clay and the part south of it is covered with vertical boards.

QWhen was the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate built?: AIt dates to the late Meiji era and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

QCan I see the Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate up close?: ANo. It stands inside a private residence that is not open to the public.

Basic Information

Name	Fujiu Family Residence Middle Gate
Location	5-1179 Hirosawacho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 10-0225)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Width 1.8 meters; attached wall 10 meters long
Owner	Private owner
Public Access	Not open to the public (private residence)