Matsuoka Family Residence Main House Gate and Fence

The Gate to the Main House

The Matsuoka Family Residence Main House Gate and Fence (松岡家住宅主屋門及び塀) is the wooden gate and flanking concrete fence in front of the Main House of the Matsuoka sake-brewing family in Hongō, Hidaka Village, Kōchi Prefecture, built in the early Shōwa era and registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 March 2004.

The gate is a gabled Yakuimon roofed with pantiles, one bay wide, which here means 1.8 meters. The fence runs 12 meters on either side. It is a separate structure from the stone walls that ring the whole compound; its job is to set off the entrance of the Main House within the property.

Like the house, it dates from early Shōwa, and it was almost certainly built as part of the same campaign.

Zelkova and Washed Aggregate

The Matsuoka Family Residence Main House Gate and Fence is one of only three structures in the Matsuoka compound registered as a work that sets a standard for design. The other two, the Main House and the Bathroom, are also on the family side of the property.

The gate is built of keyaki, Japanese zelkova, a hard, strongly figured wood long favored for gates and temple pillars. Its gable ends carry both a central Gegyo pendant, which hides the end of the ridge beam, and descending pendants that follow the bargeboards. Fitting both to so small a gate is a sign of real care.

The fence is concrete, but it is faced in mortar with an Araidashi washed-aggregate finish that leaves small pebbles exposed. It is capped with tiles and articulated with pilasters and a cornice, so that it holds its own beside the timber gate. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the whole ensemble carefully made.

Timber Meets Concrete

What makes the Matsuoka Family Residence Main House Gate and Fence worth a second look is the way a traditional timber gate and a modern concrete fence were composed as one front. The pilasters and tiled coping on the fence read as an effort to bring the concrete up to the gate's level of formality.

Before walking through, look up at the gable. The pendant boards show their depth best from an angle rather than straight on. Step close to the fence and the washed pebbles, the pilasters and the crisp edges of the cornice come into focus.

The gate stands on the same axis as the black-plastered entrance of the Main House. Framed by the gate, the front of the house makes its full sense.

Seeing the Gate

Because it stands inside the property, the Matsuoka Family Residence Main House Gate and Fence is hard to see from the lane. Visit on an event day or arrange a viewing with the Hidaka Sakagura Association.

The gate is still in use; if it is shut, do not open it yourself. Booking details and directions are on the Matsuoka Family Residence page.