Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Hyogo

Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate)

Hirayasu Nagayamon Gate: The Everyday Entrance of a 1919 Estate

The 1919 nagayamon gate of the Hirayasu residence in Kawanishi City Local Museum, the family's everyday entrance, with board skirting and a tall tiled wall.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Hyogo

About the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate

The Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate) (川西市郷土館（旧平安家住宅長屋門）) is a single-storey timber Nagayamon of 1918 to 1919 in Gezaicho, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on May 7, 1997. It stands toward the north end of the east side of the estate and was the gate the household used every day.

It has a tiled roof and a building area of 36 m², and the Agency for Cultural Affairs database records it with a roofed wall attached: a tall tiled-roof wall runs on from its north side. Visitors were received through the entrance gate, so the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate was the working entrance.

A Gate with Rooms

A nagayamon is a gateway built as one long building, with rooms on either side of the passage. The type comes from samurai residences and large farmhouses, where the rooms served as a gatekeeper's post, storage or servants' quarters.

The Hirayasu nagayamon follows that standard form, with rooms flanking the passage. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, those rooms have since been partly converted into visitor facilities, so the building still serves the museum while keeping the look of a gate.

Board Skirting and a Tall Wall to the North

The outer walls of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate are boarded from the lintel level down, so pale plaster above and dark boards below draw a horizontal line along its length.

A tall wall with a tiled roof continues north from the gate. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the gate and its wall together give order to the look of the estate. Walking along the east side, take in the gate and the wall as a single front.

Why It Was Registered

The Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate was registered as a structure that serves as a model of design, under number 28-0013, on May 7, 1997, together with 13 other Hirayasu structures.

It has no unusual ornament, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a standard nagayamon. Its value lies in how the estate worked, with a formal gate for guests and this one for daily traffic, and in the part it plays in the east front.

Visiting the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate

The Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate stands on the east side of the Kawanishi City Local Museum grounds, and its exterior can be seen during a visit. Because the side rooms have been partly converted into visitor facilities, their original interiors cannot be seen (checked October 2026).

The boarded skirting and the way the tall wall runs on to the north read best from a few steps back. Ask at reception about photography. Opening days, admission and directions are on the Kawanishi City Local Museum page.

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Q&A

QWhat was the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate used for?: AIt was the household's everyday entrance; guests came in through the separate entrance gate.

QWhere is the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?: AToward the north end of the east side of the estate, with a tall tiled-roof wall running north from it.

QWhat has happened to the rooms of the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?: AAccording to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, they have been partly converted into visitor facilities.

QWhen was the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate registered?: AOn May 7, 1997, under registration number 28-0013.

QCan I see the Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?: AYes, its exterior on the east side of the Kawanishi City Local Museum grounds can be seen during a visit (checked October 2026).

Basic Information

Name	Kawanishi City Local Museum (Former Hirayasu Family Residence Nagayamon Gate)
Location	4-1 Gezaicho, Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure)
Year Designated	1997 (registered)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Building area 36 m² (single-storey timber with roofed wall, tiled roof)
Owner	Kawanishi City
Public Access	Open (Kawanishi City Local Museum, admission 300 yen)