A Gatehouse with a Room Above
The Sameshima Family Residence Gate (鮫島家住宅門, Sameshima-ke Jūtaku Mon) is a late Meiji-period Nagayamon gatehouse in the Kaseda Fumoto district of Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 25 July 2011. It adjoins the street storehouse on its east side and serves as the main entrance to the Sameshima estate.
It is a 2-storey timber building, 7.4 metres by 4.0 metres, with a building area of 29 square metres. The pantiled roof is gabled at the west end and hipped at the east, with canopies front and back. The gateway is set toward the west end of the ground floor and closed by a pair of hinged doors; the upper floor is a living room.
Not the Usual Fumoto Gate
The standard gate in Kaseda Fumoto is a light bracket-armed gate, set back a little from the plot boundary. The Sameshima Family Residence Gate is something grander: a full 2-storey gatehouse with a room over the passage. The tourism association's walking map singles it out as a sign of the scale of the Sameshima household.
The walls are what give it character. They are of the thick, post-concealing type, finished in white Shikkui plaster and pierced by plain rectangular windows. This is not a gate that shows off its timber frame; it looks more like a storehouse with a door in it. At street level it stands on the same high base of cut stone as its neighbour.
The two ends of the roof are treated differently. Where it meets the storehouse, it ends in a gable so the two wall planes line up; at the free east end it is hipped and wraps the corner. The roof, in other words, was shaped with the building next door in mind. The listing was made under the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Notice
From across the lane the Sameshima Family Residence Gate reads in four layers: stone base, white wall, square windows, tiled roof. Note that the gateway is off-centre, pushed toward the storehouse. Take the two buildings together and they form a single continuous wall to the street.
Visiting
This is the gate of a private home. The passage, the grounds beyond and the upper room are not open, but the exterior is fully visible from the street. Please do not walk through the gate. Directions to the district are given on the Sameshima Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagoshima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sameshima Family Residence Gate
- [ Sakurajima Ferry & Yakushima World Heritage ]
Q&A
- What kind of gate is the Sameshima Family Residence Gate?
- A 2-storey timber gatehouse, or nagayamon, with a living room above the passage. It measures 7.4 metres by 4.0 metres and has white plastered walls with rectangular windows.
- Can the Sameshima Family Residence Gate be seen from the street?
- Yes. It stands on the street front beside the storehouse, and its exterior, from the cut-stone base to the roof, is visible from the road.
- Can visitors walk through the Sameshima Family Residence Gate?
- No. It is the entrance to a private home, and neither the grounds nor the upper room are open (checked September 2026).
- What does the roof of the Sameshima Family Residence Gate look like?
- It is pantiled, gabled at the west end where it meets the storehouse and hipped at the east end, with canopies front and back.
- Is the Sameshima Family Residence Gate unusual for Kaseda Fumoto?
- Yes, in scale. The typical gate in the district is a light bracket-armed gate; a 2-storey gatehouse is singled out on the tourism association's walking map as a sign of a large household.
Basic Information
| Name | Sameshima Family Residence Gate (鮫島家住宅門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 18275 Kaseda Takeda, Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 46-0099 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2011/7/25 (Heisei 23) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof; building area 29 square metres (7.4 metres by 4.0 metres) |
| Owner | Private individual (not published) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence; exterior visible from the street) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Sameshima Family Residence Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008797
- Japan Heritage Portal, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Sameshima (Kenji) Family Residence
- https://www.japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/4679/
- Satsuma Samurai Towns Japan Heritage Council: Sameshima (Kenji) Family Residence
- https://kagoshima-fumoto.jp/minamisatsuma/%E9%AE%AB%E5%B3%B6%E5%81%A5%E5%BF%97%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85/
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Minamisatsuma-shi Kaseda Fumoto
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/103/00000125
- Satsuma Samurai Towns Japan Heritage Council: Kaseda Fumoto
- https://kagoshima-fumoto.jp/minamisatsuma/
- Minamisatsuma Tourism Association: Kaseda Fumoto walking map (PDF)
- https://kanko-minamisatsuma.jp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/feature-kasedamachiaruki.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.25
