What Is the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate?
The Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate (旧藤森家住宅露地門) is a 1.6-metre-wide timber gate on the north side of the Fujimori estate in Funabashi-cho, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, built in 1930 to admit guests to the tea garden and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2022.
The Roji is the garden path leading to a tea house, and a rojimon is its entrance. The gate stands a little back from the line of the street, and beyond it lies the corner of the estate with the waiting pavilion and the Saihōan tea house. It dates from 1930, like the tea buildings, and was already there when the Fujimori family bought the land.
Form and Registration
It is a one-bay Udekimon, a light gate type in which short arms projecting from the posts carry the eave beams, here fitted with double-leaf board doors. The roof is gabled and tiled with pantiles, and the Ranma panel above the doors is filled with clay plaster.
The Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits its sukiya design with shaping the approach to the tea house. Set back from the road, it leaves a small forecourt in front, so from the street only the modest gate itself is seen.
Reading the Timber
What rewards a close look at the Rojimon Gate is the range of wood and finishes on so small a structure. The main posts are logs with their knots left showing. The rear braces behind them are finished in naguri, a rippled surface carved with an adze, so front and back posts differ in texture.
Look up at the eaves. The ridge beam and purlins are peeled and polished logs, the rafters are cedar poles, and thinner bamboo rafters are slipped between them. Knotted log, polished log, carved wood and bamboo: four textures on a gate about one and a half metres wide. The national database publishes a photograph of the eave underside, where most of the craft is concentrated.
Further east on the same street front stands the service gate, built ten years later. It follows almost the same form, but board doors become glass and a clay panel becomes bamboo; comparing the two shows how taste moved between 1930 and 1940.
Seeing the Rojimon Gate
Because the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate faces the street, its exterior can be seen from the road on any day; the official photograph is taken from this north side.
The log and bamboo work under the eaves is best seen standing beneath the gate, which is only possible on public opening days when the gate is open. Photography rules are not stated officially, so ask the volunteers. Opening dates and directions are on the Former Fujimori Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate
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Q&A
- What is the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate for?
- It is the entrance for guests going to the tea house, opening onto the garden path past the waiting pavilion to Saihōan.
- When was the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate built?
- In 1930, together with the tea buildings, before the Fujimori family bought the land.
- What type of gate is the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate?
- A one-bay bracket gate 1.6 metres wide, with double-leaf board doors, a gabled tiled roof and a clay-plastered transom.
- What details should I look for on the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate?
- The knotted log posts, adze-carved rear braces, polished-log ridge and purlins, cedar-pole rafters and bamboo rafters between them.
- Can I see the Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate?
- Its exterior faces the street and can be seen at any time. You can stand beneath it on public opening days: the 2nd Sunday of each month, 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Fujimori Family Residence Rojimon Gate (旧藤森家住宅露地門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2 Funabashicho 3-chome, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2022 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Width 1.6 m |
| Owner | Himeji City |
| Public Access | Open to the public on the 2nd Sunday of each month, 10 a.m. to 12 noon (may close in bad weather) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): 旧藤森家住宅露地門
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014281
- Himeji City: Public Opening of the Former Fujimori Family Residence
- https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/kanko/0000030546.html
Last verified: 2026.09.30
