Sawamura Family Residence Gate

A Concrete Gate to Match the Western Wing

The Sawamura Family Residence Gate (澤村家住宅門) is a Western-style reinforced-concrete gate of 1935 in Takaokacho Ko, Tosa City, Kochi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 8, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a reinforced-concrete gate 4.0 metres wide overall; registration number 39-0169.

The Gate South of the Entrance

The gate stands south of the main entrance, to the southwest of the storehouse (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Reinforced-concrete gateposts 2.7 metres apart carry iron doors, and a slightly smaller post to the east forms a side gate.

The Agency gives the overall width, side gate included, as 4.0 metres.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency describes the gateposts, arched at the top of their sides and stepped out with 1 raised band on the inner face and 2 on the outer, as a Western-style design chosen to answer the Western wing of the main house; it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

Look for the arched tops of the gateposts and the stepped raised bands, 1 on the inside and 2 on the outside (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Read together with the Western wing, the gate shows how the owner carried a Western taste into a Japanese homestead.

Visiting

No official information on access was found. The gate is the entrance to the house, so view it from outside without stepping into the grounds.