The Gate a Doctor Walked Out Of
The Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate (光恩寺長屋門, Kōon-ji Nagayamon) is a late Edo-period gatehouse at Koonji Temple in Akaiwa, Chiyoda Town, Gunma Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 17, 1999. It is the birthplace gate of Ogino Ginko, the first woman in Japan to become a government-licensed physician, and the temple calls it the Ogino Ginko Birthplace Nagayamon Gate.
A Nagayamon is a gate with rooms built into it, a common form of entrance to the house of a village headman or well-off farmer. This one stood at Tawarase, on the Saitama bank of the Tone River opposite the temple, at the house of the Ogino family, who served as headmen there. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it was moved to Koonji Temple around 1887 through the good offices of a parishioner. The temple adds that the Ogino family was clearing out its old buildings around the time Ginko opened her practice in Hongō, Tokyo, and that a Koonji parishioner living nearby arranged the transfer.
The building is a single-storey timber structure under a tiled hipped roof, with Shinkabe walls that leave the posts exposed. It covers 83 square meters. The Agency calls it plain and unadorned. Today it serves as a side entrance leading to the priests' quarters, separate from the temple's main gate.
Why It Was Registered
The Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape of the country, under registration number 10-0035. The priests' quarters, guest hall and stone storehouse registered on the same day were each judged models of architectural form; the gate alone was recognized for its place in the scene. Standing at the approach to the priests' quarters, it frames the temple's residential side.
Its story carries the rest of the weight. Ginko was born in 1851, the fifth daughter of the Tawarase headman Ogino Ayasaburō. In November 1873, determined to become a doctor, she left home through this gate for Tokyo, where she studied at Tokyo Women's Normal School and then at Kōju Iin, a private medical school. In 1885 she passed the national medical licensing examination, which had opened to women only the year before, and became the first licensed woman physician in the country.
The temple says the gate is the only structure from the Ogino family home still standing, which makes it the one physical link to the house where Ginko grew up. It has been through a conservation repair, and a report on the work was published in March 2003.
What to Look For
Stand in front of the gate and the tiled roof slopes down on all four sides, while the walls show every post. Because shinkabe walls are set between the posts rather than covering them, you can read the layout of the frame from outside. There is none of the carving or bracketing found on temple halls and gates. This was built as the entrance to a village headman's house, and it looks it.
Look through the passage and the large gable of the priests' quarters rises beyond. Step through the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate and you are entering the temple's domestic world. Both the gate and the priests' quarters were brought here from farming households, and seen together they recreate something of the layout of a late Edo rural homestead inside the temple grounds.
Walking through the gate has taken on meaning of its own. Because Ginko set out on her path to medicine from here, the temple calls it the Gate of Exam Success and opens it every year from January 1 to 4 so that visitors can pass through. The temple also offers votive tablets for exam success illustrated with Ginko's image.
Visiting the Gate
The exterior of the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate can be viewed from the temple grounds during opening hours. Walking through it is normally possible only from January 1 to 4; on other days, contact the temple in advance (0276-86-2157). There is no indication that the rooms inside the gate are open to visitors.
The temple publishes no rules on photography. During the New Year opening the gate is busy with students praying for exam success, so if you take pictures, stand clear of the line. Directions to the temple and its opening hours are on the Koonji Temple page.
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Q&A
- Why is the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate called Ogino Ginko's birthplace gate?
- It is the gate of the Ogino family home at Tawarase, now in Kumagaya City, Saitama, where Ogino Ginko, Japan's first government-licensed woman physician, was born. Ginko left home through it for Tokyo in 1873 and passed the medical licensing examination in 1885.
- When was the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate built, and when was it moved to the temple?
- It was built in the late Edo period. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says it was moved from the Ogino family around 1887 with the help of a parishioner. The temple's website also mentions a move around 1883, when the main hall was built, so the sources differ on the date.
- Can I walk through the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate?
- The temple opens the gate as the Gate of Exam Success every year from January 1 to 4, when visitors may pass through. To walk through on other days, contact Koonji Temple in advance (0276-86-2157). The exterior can be seen from the grounds during opening hours.
- When was the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 17, 1999, under number 10-0035, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape. The temple's priests' quarters, guest hall and stone storehouse were registered the same day.
- Is the gate the only surviving part of Ogino Ginko's birthplace?
- According to the temple, yes. The gatehouse is the only building from the Ogino family home that survives, and the temple has carried out conservation repairs to keep it.
Basic Information
| Name | Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate (Ogino Ginko Birthplace Nagayamon Gate) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1041 Akaiwa-ko, Chiyoda-machi, Oura-gun, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1999/2/17 (Heisei 11) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 83 square meters |
| Owner | Koonji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the grounds; walk-through January 1 to 4 (other days by inquiry) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001036
- Cultural Heritage Online: Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/177256
- Akaiwa-san Koonji Temple official website: Ogino Ginko and the Gate of Exam Success
- https://www.akaiwasan-kouonji.or.jp/pray_for_success.html
- Akaiwa-san Koonji Temple official website: cultural properties and treasures
- https://www.akaiwasan-kouonji.or.jp/treasure.html
- Akaiwa-san Koonji Temple official website: history
- https://www.akaiwasan-kouonji.or.jp/
- Comprehensive Database of Archaeological Site Reports in Japan: conservation repair report on the Koonji Temple Nagayamon Gate
- https://sitereports.nabunken.go.jp/133633
Last verified: 2026.09.25
