Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room

Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room: Guarding the Gate

A mid-Meiji tatami room beside the Great Gate in Fujioka, Gunma, plastered and battened outside, open-framed inside, with a barred window watching the gateway.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

What Is the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room?

The Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room (川端家住宅番頭部屋, Kawabata-ke Jūtaku Bantō-beya) is a small tatami-floored building beside the Great Gate of the Kawabata estate in Tateishishinden, Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture, built around the middle Meiji period and registered in 2001 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

It is a single-storey building with a north–south ridge, a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof and Sangawara-buki tiles, and a building area of 20 square meters. Facing the Great Gate from outside, it is on the right.

As the name suggests, it was presumably where the bantō, the head clerk who managed the household’s business and comings and goings, was stationed. Neither the Agency for Cultural Affairs nor the owners’ website gives details of how it was actually used.

Why the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk’s Room Was Registered

The Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property under the criterion "contributes to the historic landscape of the country." The Agency treats it as one of the pieces that make up the estate entrance.

South of the gate stands the East Grain Storehouse, and the Agency describes the two buildings as a matching pair on either side of the gate. Together they turn the east side into a single composed frontage.

The Miso Storehouse abuts it to the north, so the room also links the gate to the line of storehouses beyond. Small as it is, the building holds an essential place in that row.

Highlights of the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk’s Room

The Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room has two faces. On the side facing out of the compound, the walls are finished in Shikkui lime plaster over a lower band of Shitami-itabari clapboard held by thin vertical battens, a closed, storehouse-like front.

On the inner side the building switches to Shinkabe construction with the posts exposed, fitted with sliding doors. From within the grounds it looks like an ordinary open-fronted room.

Note also the barred window in the gable facing the gate. Set where it overlooks everyone passing through, it fits the idea of a clerk keeping watch on the entrance.

Visiting the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk’s Room

The outer walls of the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room face the outside of the compound, but the estate is a private home and is not open to the public. If you are in the area, avoid blocking the gateway or the lane.

The exposed-post inner side and the tatami room can only be seen from inside the grounds. When booking the estate for filming or an event, ask the owners what you will be able to see.

History and transport details are on the Kawabata Family Residence page.

Q&A

QWhere is the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room?: AOn the east side of the estate, immediately north of the Great Gate, with the Miso Storehouse attached on its north side.

QWhat kind of building is the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room?: AA single-storey gabled building with a tiled roof, a tatami-floored interior and a building area of 20 square meters, thought to date from the middle Meiji period.

QHow do the two sides of the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room differ?: AThe outward face has lime-plastered walls over battened clapboard, while the inward face has exposed posts and sliding doors.

QWhy is the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?: AIt was registered in 2001 for contributing to the historic landscape as part of the entrance ensemble, paired with the East Grain Storehouse across the gate.

QCan visitors enter the Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room?: ANo, except during the owners’ reservation-only services for filming or events. The estate is private.

Basic Information

Name	Kawabata Family Residence Head Clerk's Room
Location	391 Tateishishinden, Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	2001 (Heisei 13)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 20 m²
Owner	Kawabata Hozensha
Public Access	Not open to the public (private home; reservation-only use for filming and events)