Kusaka Family Residence Middle Gate

A gate halfway up the steps

The Kusaka Family Residence Middle Gate (日下家住宅中門, Kusaka-ke Jūtaku Chūmon) in Hibarigaoka, Takarazuka City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the concrete gateway halfway up the path to the main house, made in the early Showa era; it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 29, 2019 (number 28-705). It stands halfway along the stepped path that links the front gate with the main house.

The Kusaka Family Residence Middle Gate receives visitors who have climbed from the front gate and leads them on to the front of the house. After the open front gate, the design steps up a level here.

Checkerboard stone and lamps on the posts

The Kusaka Family Residence Middle Gate is concrete, with square posts 2.1 metres high set 2.1 metres apart. The basic finish is exposed aggregate, the shafts are faced with cut teppei stone in a checkerboard pattern, and lamps sit on top of the posts.

Dressing up the approach

The Agency for Cultural Affairs says the Kusaka middle gate gives the front of the main house a festive, decorative setting. From the low posts at the street, to these tall ornamented posts, to the gable of the house, the entrance grows more formal as you climb, and this gate is the turning point.

Visiting

The Kusaka Family Residence Middle Gate is inside the property, partway up the path from the front gate, and cannot be visited. As of October 2026 there is no public opening on record.

The background of the property, what can be seen from outside and directions are on the Kusaka Family Residence (Takarazuka) page.