Kotabe Foundry Gate: the entrance to a working bell works
The Kotabe Foundry Gate (小田部鋳造門, Kotabe Chūzō Mon) is a late Meiji-era gate at Makabecho-da in Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001. The Agency for Cultural Affairs files it not as a building but as a structure of another kind. The main house and the 2 storehouses on the same compound are recorded as buildings; the gate alone falls outside that category.
It is a timber Yakuimon with a frontage of 3.0 metres, 1 bay with 1 doorway, its ridge running north to south. In this form 2 thick Kagami-bashira posts stand at the front and slimmer rear posts support the back of the roof. Because the ridge sits forward of centre, the roof slopes at different lengths front and back, which is the quickest way to recognise the type.
The gate stands where the road along the western edge of the compound bends. Placing it on the turn puts it directly in the line of sight of anyone walking the street. Beyond it lies the earth-floored section of the main house, so visitors and freight both came in through this one opening.
What the gate says about the household
Makabe grew as a merchant town, yet gates and board fences are what stand out along its streets. Sakuragawa City explains that once the domain's restrictions lapsed in the Meiji era, merchant families began putting up yakuimon gates one after another. Under the Edo order the form of a gate had been tied to social rank; the change in regime opened it up. The Kotabe Foundry Gate belongs to that moment. Its number on the Registered Tangible Cultural Property roll is 08-0059, and the criterion applied was contribution to the historic landscape of the country.
The Kotabe, though, were not merchants. They hold the rank of chokkyo on-imonoji, granted to founders permitted to supply castings for the imperial court and other official use, and the present head of the house is the 37th generation. The official record calls this gate a surviving structure through which the standing of the foundry can be read. What it announced was lineage in a craft rather than volume of trade.
The gate does not stand alone. A board fence runs off to the right front, and on the left a roofed stone wall abuts it, pierced by a side entrance for everyday use. Formal arrivals came through the gate, daily traffic through the wall. Both routes are still there.
What to look at
Stand under the roof and look up. The difference in girth between the front and rear posts is obvious: the heavy roof is carried almost entirely on the pair at the front, while those behind work more as bracing. That distribution of load is what pushes the ridge forward. All of it is packed into a frontage of only 3.0 metres.
The setting is part of the interest. The Kotabe Foundry Gate now stands hemmed in between a factory shed and a warehouse. Metal noise and the hum of blowers carry from the working shop while a Meiji timber gate holds its ground in the middle of it. This is not a gate fenced off for preservation; it is a gate in use.
Take in the fences with it. Timber on one side, stone on the other, both turning to follow the bend in the road. The three elements were planned together, and looking at the gate on its own misses that.
Visiting the Kotabe Foundry Gate
The Kotabe Foundry Gate stands on the western edge of the compound, facing the road, and of the 4 registered buildings here it is by far the easiest to see. Everything past it is private ground and a working foundry, so there is no going through. Neither the interior nor a factory tour is open to visitors. Photograph the gate and its fences from the road, and keep the camera off the yard and the work going on inside.
The nearest railway station is Iwase on the JR Mito Line, about 20 minutes away by taxi according to Sakuragawa City. From Tsukuba Station on the Tsukuba Express, a Tsukuba city bus reaches Tsukubasanguchi in about 50 minutes, where you change to a Sakuragawa city bus towards the Iwase branch office for another 20 minutes. Driving takes about 20 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, or about 50 minutes from the Tsuchiura-kita interchange via National Route 125 and Prefectural Route 41.
Park at the Makabe Takajomachi car park (279-1 Makabecho-Makabe, Sakuragawa City), which has 65 spaces for ordinary cars without booking and 4 coach spaces by reservation. Several gates of the same period survive in the streets of Makabe, and walking between them with the Kotabe Foundry Gate in mind is the best way to see how the type varies. The Makabe Hina Matsuri doll festival runs each year from early February until 3 March, drawing more people onto the streets, with traffic closures in the centre on some days. Confirm dates with the Sakuragawa Tourism Association. These travel details were checked on 7 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can you see the Kotabe Foundry Gate, and can you walk through it?
- You can see it from the road, since it faces the street. You cannot walk through: everything beyond is the private ground of a working foundry.
- When was the Kotabe Foundry Gate built and registered?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Meiji era, which ran from 1868 to 1912. It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 August 2001.
- What kind of gate is the Kotabe Foundry Gate?
- A yakuimon: 2 thick front posts carry the roof, with slimmer posts behind. The ridge sits forward of centre, so the roof slopes unequally front and back.
- How large is the Kotabe Foundry Gate?
- The frontage is 3.0 metres, 1 bay with 1 doorway, built in timber. The registration classes it as a structure rather than a building.
- How do you reach the Kotabe Foundry Gate?
- About 20 minutes by taxi from Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line, or about 20 minutes by car from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange. Use the Makabe Takajomachi car park.
Basic Information
| Name | Kotabe Foundry Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 45 Makabecho-da, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 28 August 2001 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 3.0 metres; 1 bay with 1 doorway |
| Owner | Private. No owner name is listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public. The exterior is visible from the road outside the compound |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database, Kotabe Chuzo Mon
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002211
- Sakuragawa City, Makabe Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/education/bunkazai/city_bunkazai/kuni_bunkazai/page003423.html
- Sakuragawa City, The townscape of Makabe
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/tourism_guide/learn/page000455.html
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education, Makabe Preservation District, Sakuragawa City
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-8557/
- Kotabe Chuzo Co., Ltd., Company profile
- https://kotabe.sakuragawa.jp/company.html
Last verified: 2026.09.07