An inner gate between garden and entrance path
The Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls (コヤノ美術館西脇館（旧藤井家住宅）庭門及び塀, niwamon oyobi hei) in Ichihara-cho, Nishiwaki, Hyogo Prefecture, is a late Meiji-period gate and wall listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on November 17, 2015. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to between 1898 and 1912 and counts gate and wall together as a single structure.
It stands inside the front gate. The wall runs from the center of the main house to a point just north of the front gate, dividing the space you enter into two: to the north, the garden laid out in front of the reception rooms; to the south, the path to the front door. The garden gate is the opening between them.
The gate is 1.6 meters wide and the wall 15 meters long in total. Next to the 2.5-meter front gate it is modest, which tells you its job: not to present the house to the street, but to order movement within it.
Why it was registered: shaping the forecourt
The Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls was registered (no. 28-0633) as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with dividing the front garden from the approach to the entrance and so creating a forecourt worthy of a grand house.
One wall and one gate separate the route guests took to the door from the garden the family looked out on from the reception rooms. With the gate shut, the garden is screened from the entrance path, and from the house it becomes a closed, private view.
What to look for: stone braces and a dressed-stone base
The gate of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls is a one-bay Yakuimon, roofed with a Kirizuma-zukuri gable in Sangawara-buki pantiles over widely spaced Taruki rafters. In a yakuimon, rear braces stand behind the main posts to carry the roof; here the braces on the garden side are made of stone. The pairing of timber main posts with stone braces is the gate's most distinctive feature.
Timber walls with Koshiita board skirting extend from each side, set on a base of carefully dressed, coursed stone. Look down at the foot of the wall and you can see the joints running in tidy lines.
Set it beside the munamon front gate and the wall-gate on the south side of the main house, and you find each of the estate's three gates built in a different form. The garden gate is the smallest, and the one most concerned with how it looks from the garden.
Seeing the garden gate
The Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls stands inside the front gate and cannot be seen from the road. Step through the front gate and it lies just to your right, to the north, where you can take in gate and wall before heading to the entrance.
The stone braces are on the garden side, so the structure is clearest from the veranda of the reception rooms or from the garden itself. When the tour takes you into the main house, look back at the rear of the garden gate from the veranda. Outdoor photography follows the same rules as inside: no flash and no tripod.
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Q&A
- When was the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Meiji period, 1898 to 1912. It was registered on November 17, 2015 (registration no. 28-0633).
- What type of gate is the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls?
- A one-bay yakuimon with a gabled pantile roof over widely spaced rafters. It has stone braces on the garden side, and timber walls with board skirting extend from each side.
- What does the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls divide?
- It runs from the center of the main house to just north of the front gate, separating the garden in front of the reception rooms from the path to the entrance.
- How big is the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls?
- The gate is 1.6 meters wide and the wall is 15 meters long in total. Gate and wall are registered together as one structure.
- Can the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls be seen from the road?
- No. It is inside the front gate, so you see it after entering the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building. The stone braces are on the garden side and are easiest to read from the veranda of the main house.
Basic Information
| Name | Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls |
|---|---|
| Location | 139 Ichihara-cho, Nishiwaki City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on November 17, 2015 (Heisei 27) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Garden gate: wooden, tiled roof, 1.6 m wide / Wall: wooden, tiled roof, total length 15 m |
| Owner | Koyano Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Shown on guided tours of the Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Sundays; other days by reservation) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00010863
- Cultural Heritage Online: Koyano Museum of Art Nishiwaki Building (Former Fujii Family Residence) Garden Gate and Walls
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/236478
- Koyano Museum of Art: Floor Guide, Nishiwaki Building (Japanese)
- https://koyafron.co.jp/museum/nishiwaki/floor.html
Last verified: 2026.10.04
