Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall

About the Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall

The Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall (東多田夢勝庵露地門及び庭塀, Higashitada Mushōan Rojimon oyobi Niwabei) is a late Edo-period plastered wall and small cedar-bark gate dividing the forecourt of a former village headman's estate in Higashitada 2-chome, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2019.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Edo period, 1751 to 1830 in its year field, with alterations in the early Meiji era. It records the gate as timber with a cedar-bark roof and an opening of 1.0 metre, and the wall as a tiled earthen wall 16 metres long in total.

A Wall That Turns Twice

The garden wall is a Tsuijibei, a roofed earthen wall, finished in Shikkui plaster and capped with pantiles. It divides the front part of the plot from east to west.

Its route takes some following. It starts from the west end of the gatehouse's rear face and runs north, turns east just in front of the Main House to frame the Roji Gate, then turns north again to meet the middle of the house front. In 16 metres it changes direction twice and links the gatehouse at the front with the house at the back.

Because the wall stops at the middle of the house front, the space before the Main House is split in two. The western half, facing the formal reception room, becomes a garden entered through the gate in the Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall.

The Roji Gate

The gate in the Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall is a Munamon, a roof set directly on two posts. Its gabled roof is covered in cedar bark, and its opening is 1.0 metre, wide enough for one person.

Roji is the word for the garden path leading to a tea room. A light roof of cedar bark, rather than tile, sets this gate apart from the heavy tiled gatehouse at the front. Guests entered the estate through the big gate and were then received into the reception garden through a small, soft one.

Framing the Front of the Main House

The Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The agency says it gives the front of the Main House a refined dignity.

By marking off a garden before the reception room and placing a cedar-bark gate at its entrance, the wall turned a farmhouse forecourt into a garden for receiving guests. Wall and gate are small structures, but they decide how the Main House is first seen.

Seeing the Roji Gate and Garden Wall

The Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall stands inside the grounds of an estate owned by a private company, and no public opening has been announced (checked October 2026). Visitors cannot enter to pass through the gate.

Set between the gatehouse and the Main House, the Higashitada Mushoan Roji Gate and Garden Wall is probably hidden from the road, although this has not been checked on site. Directions are on the Higashitada Mushoan page.