The gate that became a soy sauce maker's frontage
The Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate (鈴木醸造長屋門, Suzuki Jōzō Nagayamon) is an early Meiji Nagayamon gatehouse at Furushiro in the Makabe district of Sakuragawa, Ibaraki Prefecture, entered on the national list of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 4 December 2000. The Agency for Cultural Affairs assigns it to the Meiji era, within the span 1868 to 1911, and dates it to the era's opening years.
It stands against the west face of the main house. The structure is single-storey timber with a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof of pan tiles and a floor area of 64 square metres, its eaves thrown deep on a projecting purlin. A pair of large board doors swings inward at the centre; to either side are rooms with doorways at the rear, and single-leaf wicket doors flank the main opening. The lower wall is clad in overlapping boards held by notched battens, the upper part finished in white plaster. A latticed window opens on the right of the front.
A nagayamon is a row building with a gateway cut through its middle. The flanking rooms housed servants, tools or rice. That double character, gate and building at once, is what makes the form interesting, and the figure of 64 square metres counts those living spaces in.
From farmhouse gate to brewery gate
The Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education records the Suzuki family as an old household of the former village of Furushiro that had farmed here since the beginning of the early modern period. The gate is dated to the opening years of Meiji from the age of its timbers, and the board calls it one of the gates that best represents Makabe. It was registered under the criterion covering contribution to the historic landscape, with registration number 08-0051.
The main house shares the plot. Built in 1854 with a floor area of 201 square metres, it has a principal room fitted with an alcove, staggered shelves and a Tsukeshoin writing bay, the equipment of a substantial farming family. The Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate stands to its west, and the two together compose the face the estate presents to the road. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the gate as the core of the local landscape in exactly that role.
The brewery name came later. Soy sauce production was started by the elder brother of the previous head of the family in 1925, roughly half a century after the gate went up. A farming estate became a brewing estate, the name changed, and the gate stayed where it was. The title under which this Registered Tangible Cultural Property is listed therefore reflects the family trade at the time of registration rather than the building's original purpose.
Board, plaster and a very deep eave
Set the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate beside the gates in the town centre and the roof is the first difference. Most of the yakuimon gates along Makabe's streets are gabled; this one is hipped, so the eaves come down on all four sides. That is a shape available to an estate sitting along an old road among fields at Furushiro, not to a plot squeezed into a street frontage.
The walls repay a closer look. The lower band is boarded, each plank lapping the one below and pinned by battens notched along their length, so the board edges throw a run of shadow lines. Above that the wall is white plaster, and the dark timber and pale render divide cleanly at the belt. The latticed window on the right of the front lights the room behind it.
The eaves ride on a purlin pushed forward of the posts to catch the rafters, which carries the roof edge well beyond the wall face. Stand under it in the rain and the depth becomes obvious. The central doors open inward, and everyday traffic goes through the wicket door beside them.
Sakuragawa's walking map treats this area as the Furushiro route. Add about 20 minutes to the loop around the old administrative quarter and it brings you to the front of the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate. Stepping away from the dense townscape has one advantage: there is room to stand back and take in the whole elevation.
Visiting the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate
The Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate is privately owned and the interior is closed. Sakuragawa asks visitors to its registered buildings to enjoy the exteriors while walking and to stay out of plots and buildings. Viewing here means the elevation seen from the old road, and it costs nothing.
Photography from the road is unrestricted. What lies beyond the gateway is a home and a workplace, so do not step through it or linger in the opening.
By rail, Iwase Station on the JR Mito Line is the starting point, then a Sakuragawa city bus for about 20 minutes. From the Tsukuba side, the northern shuttle bus takes 50 minutes to Tsukubasanguchi, with another 20 minutes by city bus. Drivers should leave the Kita-Kanto Expressway at Sakuragawa-Chikusei and follow Route 50 and Prefectural Route 41. The practical approach on foot is to park at the Takajomachi car park in town and walk east toward Furushiro on flat ground. Makabe sits with the Tsukuba range at its back to the east and south, so the ridgeline rises ahead of you as you go.
Q&A
- Can you visit the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate, and can you go inside?
- You can view it from the old road at any time, free of charge. It is privately owned, the interior is not open, and the city of Sakuragawa asks visitors not to enter plots or buildings.
- When was the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate built and registered?
- The age of its timbers places it in the opening years of Meiji, within the span 1868 to 1911. It was entered on the register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 4 December 2000 for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- What exactly is a nagayamon, as at the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate?
- It is a row building with a gateway through the middle and rooms to either side. This example covers 64 square metres, has a hipped pan-tiled roof, and sets wicket doors on both sides of the central pair of doors.
- Who were the Suzuki family behind the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate?
- An old farming household of the former village of Furushiro, established there since the start of the early modern period. Soy sauce brewing began in 1925, well after the gate itself was built.
- How do you get to the Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate?
- Take the JR Mito Line to Iwase Station and a Sakuragawa city bus for about 20 minutes. From the town centre it is roughly 20 minutes on foot east along the city's Furushiro route. By car, use the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate (鈴木醸造長屋門) |
|---|---|
| Location | Furushiro, Makabe-cho, Sakuragawa, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2000 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, floor area 64 square metres |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Privately owned, interior closed. Exterior viewing from the road, free |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002001
- Cultural Heritage Online: Suzuki Brewery Nagayamon Gate
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/139271
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education: Suzuki Brewery Main House and one other building
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-registered-6569/
- City of Sakuragawa: Walking Makabe (district map)
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/data/doc/1487569963_doc_23_1.pdf
- Ibaraki Prefectural Board of Education: Makabe Important Preservation District
- https://kyoiku.pref.ibaraki.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-8557/
- City of Sakuragawa: Makabe Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.sakuragawa.lg.jp/education/bunkazai/city_bunkazai/kuni_bunkazai/page003423.html
Last verified: 2026.09.09