The Street Fence North of the Main House
The Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence (長﨑家住宅表木戸及び板塀, Nagasaki-ke Jūtaku Omote-kido oyobi Itabei) is the street gate and fence of a merchant house on the old highway through Hiketa, Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1930 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 28, 2011.
It is a timber structure with a tiled coping, 9.6 metres long. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the tall fence runs north from the main house and turns a right angle to wrap the east side of the formal reception wing. Its top is capped with straight-edged ichimonji tiles, and at the centre of the east face opens the front gate, a pair of sliding lattice doors under a small tiled canopy.
The fence itself is built in layers: a Shitami-itabari clapboard base, an upper wall of Shikkui lime plaster in the Shinkabe manner with posts and rails left visible, and bamboo lattice filling the openings. The Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence stacks timber, plaster and bamboo one above the other.
Why a Fence Was Registered
The gate and fence were listed for their contribution to the historic landscape. In the Agency's reading, the structure is modest but neat, and it gives order to the street.
Along with the main house, this is the part of the Nagasaki property that meets the old highway directly. The fence continues the line of the main house northward, so the family's frontage on the street is the length of the house and the fence together.
Compare the earthen wall on the lane south of the house, finished in plain mortar. The Agency notes that the family varied the specification of its walls according to position: care and craft went into the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence, which the street could see.
What to Look For
Start at the top. Ichimonji tiles have no drooping lip at the edge, so they cut a clean horizontal line along the crest of the fence, unbroken over its full 9.6 metres.
The gate sits midway along, two lattice doors that slide past each other, marked by the tiled canopy above. The reception wing projects a hip-and-gable porch from its east gable, and the fence wraps that east side, so guests most likely came through this gate to reach the porch.
The bamboo lattice keeps the fence from shutting out the garden completely; you sense space behind it without seeing in. Read the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence from bottom to top, clapboard, plaster, bamboo and tile, and you see how many trades went into a wall that looks simple.
Visiting the Gate and Fence
The fence faces the old highway and can be seen in full from the road. This is the guest entrance to a private home: do not open the gate or peer through the lattice.
The fence faces east, so the morning, with sun on the plaster, is the easiest time to tell the materials apart. Photograph from the street only.
Q&A
- What is the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence made of?
- The Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence is a timber structure of 1930 with a tiled coping, 9.6 metres long: a clapboard base, lime plaster above with the frame exposed, bamboo lattice in the openings and straight-edged ichimonji tiles on top.
- When was the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence registered?
- It was registered on October 28, 2011, together with the other 5 structures of the Nagasaki Family Residence, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
- Where can I see the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence?
- It faces Hiketa's old highway and is visible in full from the road, running to the right (north) of the main house as you face it.
- Can I enter through the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence?
- No. It is the gate of a private home, and no access to the grounds could be confirmed. View it from the street.
- How does the Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence differ from the earthen wall?
- The front fence is a display wall of clapboard, plaster and bamboo; the earthen wall on the side lane is finished in mortar. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the specification changes with position.
Basic Information
| Name | Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence (長﨑家住宅表木戸及び板塀) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2417-2 Hatakata, Hiketa, Higashikagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2011/10/28 (Heisei 23) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Fence length 9.6 metres (timber, tiled coping) |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the old highway; no entry to the grounds |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nagasaki Family Residence Front Wooden Gate and Wooden Fence
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009076
- Higashikagawa City: List of Designated and Registered Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.higashikagawa.jp/soshikikarasagasu/shogaigakushuka/gyomuannai/8/1/1085.html
- Higashikagawa City Tourism Information: Hiketa Town Walking Map (PDF, Japanese)
- https://higashikagawa.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/hiketa_map_k.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.24
