A Wickerwork Gate and a Bamboo Fence
Tottori Family Residence West Gate (鳥取家住宅西門, Tottori-ke Jūtaku Nishi-mon) is an early-Showa garden gate in Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 2021.
It opens on the south side of the garden that lies west of the Rear Zashiki. Arms set into the tops of the posts carry the eave beam, the roof is sheet iron, and the opening, 1.3 metres wide, is closed by a pair of ajiro doors woven from thin strips of wood. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945.
Low fences (Sodobei) run east and west from the gate. They are takeho-gaki, made of bundled bamboo twigs, set on a base of bluish stone laid in random courses (Ranzumi). To the west the fence meets the Greenhouse; to the east it reaches a stone wall.
Why It Was Registered: Variety in the Garden
The Tottori Family Residence West Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The official description praises the way its varied forms bring change to the garden scene.
One small gate gathers sheet metal, woven wood, rough stone and bamboo. Compared with the neat tile and plaster of the East Gate, it is light and informal, closer in spirit to the gate of a tea garden, fitting for a garden beside the Rear Zashiki, which was later used for tea ceremony classes.
The owner's website says Tottori Fujio laid out new gardens and gates when he built the New Zashiki in the early Showa years. The West Gate and its fences stitch the Rear Zashiki's garden and the Greenhouse into a single view.
What to Look For
Get close to the ajiro doors of the Tottori Family Residence West Gate. The diagonal weave changes character as the light moves across it.
Then follow the fence. Irregular blue-grey stones form the base, fine lines of bamboo rise above, and the whole run ties the Greenhouse to the stone wall, so the southern edge of the garden reads as one composition centred on the gate.
Visiting
The West Gate opens onto a garden inside the compound and is not open to the public. The owner's website gives no public visiting information, so contact the owner in advance. No photography rules are posted.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs counts the West Gate as one structure, while the Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education list counts it as one building. Directions and visiting conditions are on the Tottori Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Where is the Tottori Family Residence West Gate?
- On the south side of the garden west of the Rear Zashiki. It is inside the compound and not open to the public.
- What makes the Tottori Family Residence West Gate distinctive?
- A sheet-iron roof on post arms, woven ajiro doors, and flanking fences of bundled bamboo on a base of random-laid blue stone.
- How wide is the Tottori Family Residence West Gate?
- The opening is 1.3 metres wide.
- When was the Tottori Family Residence West Gate built?
- In the early Showa period, between 1926 and 1945, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
- Why was the Tottori Family Residence West Gate registered?
- For the variety it brings to the garden scene, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Tottori Family Residence West Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 1764-1 Kasada Kasaoka Goemon, Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 37-0461 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/10/14 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber, sheet-iron roof, opening 1.3 metres, with flanking fences |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (garden gate inside the compound; contact the owner in advance) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Tottori Family Residence West Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014106
- Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in Kagawa
- https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/kenkyoui/shogaigakushu/bunkazai/culturalassets/culturalassets_16.html
- Guesthouse Kachoen, official site of the owner
- https://www.kachoen.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
