Yoshida Sanso (Former Higashifushimi Family Residence) Former Gatekeeper's Lodge

A Small Lodge Beside the Gate

The Yoshida Sanso (Former Higashifushimi Family Residence) Former Gatekeeper's Lodge is a single-storey timber lodge of around 1932 just south of the Front Gate of Yoshida Sanso in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 13, 2012. It housed the gatekeeper who watched the comings and goings at the Higashifushimi family's Kyoto villa.

It is a small building, 4 meters by 3 meters, with a building area of 12 square meters. The roof is Irimoya-zukuri with Sangawara-buki tiles. The walls are white Shikkui above a wainscot of vertical boards. The door is on the west side, facing into the grounds, while the east side, toward the street, has a window fitted with a wooden lattice.

On the street side the lodge sits on a stone-faced plinth, which lifts it slightly above the lane and sets the lattice window on top of a base of stone and plaster.

Why It Was Registered, and What a Gatekeeper's Lodge Is

The Former Gatekeeper's Lodge at Yoshida Sanso was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes its light design, with simple boat-shaped bracket blocks on the posts and widely spaced rafters under the eaves. Spacing the Taruki apart this way looks plainer and lighter than the close-set rafters used on grander buildings.

A gatekeeper's lodge is the guard post of a gated estate. Putting the door on the inside and the lookout window on the outside lets someone indoors check who is on the street, and the plan of this building follows that job exactly. Beside the ceremonial karamon, the lodge keeps its hipped-and-gabled roof but holds back on everything else, playing a supporting role to the gate.

With the gate and lodge surviving as a pair, the layout itself shows how the entrance to this estate was controlled.

What to Look For

From the street, focus on the east face with its lattice window and stone plinth. Three finishes stack up in a small space: the thin lattice bars, the white plaster, and the vertical-board wainscot below. Look under the eaves and you can pick out the bracket blocks on the posts and the gaps between the rafters.

Compare the lodge with the Front Gate next door to see how the roofs differ. The gate has a copper roof with a curved karahafu gable on its sides; the lodge has a tiled irimoya roof. The gap in rank between gate and lodge is spelled out in roofing material and shape.

Visiting the Former Gatekeeper's Lodge

The Yoshida Sanso Former Gatekeeper's Lodge stands right beside the Front Gate on the street, so its east face can be seen from the lane without a booking. The interior is not open. Its west-side doorway faces the grounds and can only be seen once you are inside the gate with a reservation for a stay, a kaiseki meal or Cafe Shinkokan.

The building is small and close to the road, so the far side of the lane gives the best view of the whole. It is a narrow residential street; mind the traffic if you stop.