A gate and wall for guests
The Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall (旧木村酒造場門及び塀, Kyū Kimura Shuzōjō Mon oyobi Hei) is a late Meiji-period (1898–1912) gate and street wall in Takeda, Wadayama-cho, Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 17 November 2015. The wall runs along the street from the corner of the formal reception room of the Shop and Main House to the edge of the lot, with a small gate set into it.
It is modest in scale: the gate is 1.4 metres wide and the wall 9.7 metres long in total. Of the brewery's six listings it is the only one registered as a structure rather than a building, though the database counts it as a single unit.
Unlike the other five, it carries no renovation note in the national database. What you see on the street is the late Meiji work.
Why it was listed
The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall for how it matches the reception room beside it. The street face of the wall is finished in the same manner as the room's exterior, so that the two read as a single front.
That room was where the family received guests. A gate beside it, and a wall dressed to match it, gave the house a second front on the street, separate from the shop counter. A brewing family kept a business face and a hospitable face, and this short stretch of wall is where the second one shows.
It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
What to look for
The gate is an Udekimon: two posts with brackets projecting fore and aft to carry a small gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. It is a plain, light type of gate. The one piece of elaboration is in the transom panel (Ranma) above the doors, filled with diagonal cross-bars set in closely spaced pairs.
The wall also wears a tiled cap. On the street side its upper part is Ōkabe, plaster covering the posts, left at the intermediate coat instead of receiving a white finish, so it shows an earthen colour rather than the white of the main house.
Below, the wall is clad in overlapping horizontal boards held by notched vertical battens, a form of Shitami-itabari. The fine shadows of the overlapping boards tighten the base of the wall, and the pairing of earth-coloured plaster above dark timber below echoes the reception room next door.
View it from the opposite side of the street, where the whole length fits in one glance. Check where the wall meets the corner of the reception room: the junction shows that the wall was designed as part of the house.
Visiting
The Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall faces the street, and its outer side can be seen freely from the road. Behind the gate is the hotel compound, which is not open to the public. The operator gives no information on current use of the gate as an entrance.
No restrictions are published on photographing it from the street.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- Where is the Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall?
- It runs along the street from the corner of the reception room at the front right of the Shop and Main House to the edge of the lot, with the gate partway along.
- How big is the Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall?
- The gate is 1.4 metres wide and the wall 9.7 metres long in total. The national database counts the gate and wall together as one unit.
- What type of gate is the Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall?
- It is an udekimon, a gate whose small gabled tiled roof sits on brackets projecting from the posts. The transom above the doors holds paired diagonal cross-bars.
- Why is the Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was finished to match the reception room of the main house and gives the street a well-composed frontage. It was registered on 17 November 2015.
- Can I visit the Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall?
- Its outer side faces the street and can be seen freely from the road. The area behind the gate belongs to the hotel and is not open to the public.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 363 Kamimachi Nishigawa, Takeda, Wadayama-cho, Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2015/11/17 (Heisei 27) |
| Quantity | 1 (gate and wall) |
| Dimensions | Gate: timber, tiled roof, 1.4 metres wide; Wall: timber, tiled roof, 9.7 metres in total length |
| Owner | Asago City |
| Public Access | Outer side visible from the street; no public access behind the gate |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Former Kimura Brewery Gate and Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010871
- National Cultural Properties Database: Former Kimura Brewery Shop and Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010866
Last verified: 2026.10.01
