The gate to the brewery
Northeast of the main house, along the street on the north edge of the plot, stands the nagayamon, a row-house gate running east to west. The single-story timber gate is about five ken long and seven shaku deep under a gabled pantile roof, with a footprint of about 20 square meters, the smallest of the seven registered buildings.
The gateway opens ten shaku wide, with wickets (kuguri) to either side and granite paving underfoot. Its main posts are cut from keyaki, the prized zelkova hardwood.
Why it matters
Registered in July 2004 (number 08-0137) for its part in the historic landscape, the gate is said by tradition to copy the Saiwaicho mitsuke-mon, the checkpoint gate that once marked the entrance to Fuchu.
Fuchu was the old name for this part of Ishioka, the town that grew around the provincial seat of Hitachi.
A small building with a long memory
The place name Kokufu still records the ancient provincial capital. By modeling its gate on the town's old checkpoint, the brewery tied its own front door to that history.
The granite underfoot and the zelkova posts give the small structure a solidity out of proportion to its footprint, and it remains the threshold a visitor crosses first.
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Questions and Answers
- What is a nagayamon?
- A row-house gate, a gatehouse with rooms built into the wings on either side of the central opening.
- How big is it?
- About five ken by seven shaku, a footprint of around 20 square meters, the smallest of the seven registered buildings.
- What is it modeled on?
- By tradition it copies the Saiwaicho mitsuke-mon, the old checkpoint gate at the entrance to Fuchu.
- What are the posts made of?
- The main structural posts are keyaki (zelkova), a hard, durable hardwood.
- When was it built?
- In the early Meiji period.
Basic Information
| Name | Fuchu Homare Nagayamon (Row-House Gate) |
|---|---|
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Registration No. | 08-0137 |
| Registered | 23 July 2004 (gazetted 17 August 2004) |
| Period | Early Meiji period (1868-1911) |
| Structure | Single-story timber; pantile roof |
| Floor area | approx. 20 sqm |
| Number | 1 building |
| Owner | Fuchu Homare Co., Ltd. |
| Location | 5-9-32 Kokufu, Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Visiting | Working brewery; visits by prior inquiry |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Designated Cultural Properties
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004204
- Fuchu Homare Co., Ltd. (official site)
- https://www.huchuhomare.com/
Last verified: 2026.06.25