What Is the Former Kitato Front Gate?
The Former Kitato Front Gate (旧喜多藤表門, Kyū-Kitato Omotemon) is the main gate of a former restaurant inn in Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture; a timber Yakuimon gate built in 1923, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 14 October 2021. It is 2.6 meters wide, with a Sodobei wall on each side.
It faces Honmachi-dori, the old Hase Kaido highway. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says the gate forms the street front of the former inn along the highway, and the Chunichi Shimbun reports that it was built together with the Annex in 1923.
Of the seven Former Kitato buildings, the Former Kitato Front Gate is the one you can actually see from a public road.
A Frame of Knotty Logs
The Former Kitato Front Gate is built of logs. Both the main posts and the Hikaebashira rear posts are round timbers with their knots left showing. On top they take Udeki brackets, which carry the eave beams that hold up the roof.
A yakuimon sets one roof over two rows of posts, main and rear, and was long used for the gates of temples, samurai houses and merchant homes. Here that formal type is framed in knotty logs rather than squared timber, which gives it the lighter, rustic air of the sukiya style.
Look under the eaves as well. The eave soffit is made of small logs laid side by side, a detail the agency calls refined and elegant. The agency's database includes a photograph of this soffit taken from the northwest.
A Hip-and-Gable Roof on a Gate
The roof is an Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable form in Sangawara-buki tile, with some parts in copper sheet. Yakuimon gates more often carry a simple gabled roof; choosing the hip-and-gable form gives the Former Kitato Front Gate a gable end above the entrance.
The Chunichi Shimbun describes the gate as a solid, dignified tiled structure. Pairing a light log frame with a heavy tiled hip-and-gable roof was how the inn chose to present itself to the street.
Beyond the gate stand the Annex, straight ahead, and the Toilet Building in front of it. The gate went up with both in 1923 and has remained the entrance to the lot through every later addition.
Visiting the Former Kitato Front Gate
The Former Kitato Front Gate faces Honmachi-dori, so its exterior can be seen from the public road. The ground inside is private property; do not pass through the gate.
Standing in front of it, you can take in the two main posts, the spread of the side walls and the shape of the hip-and-gable roof. If you can get close enough, look up at the soffit of small logs. The street in front is a residential road, so keep out of the way of traffic and take photos from the public road only.
Directions from the nearest station are on the Former Kitato page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Mie
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Kitato Front Gate
- [ Ise Grand Shrine & Shima Bay Cruise Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Former Kitato Front Gate built?
- In 1923. According to the Chunichi Shimbun it was built together with the Annex.
- What type of gate is the Former Kitato Front Gate?
- A yakuimon gate, 2.6 meters wide, with side walls and a hip-and-gable tile roof that is partly clad in copper.
- What should I look for at the Former Kitato Front Gate?
- The main and rear posts and brackets made of knotty logs, and the eave soffit of small logs laid side by side.
- When did the Former Kitato Front Gate become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On 14 October 2021, as registration number 24-296, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I see the Former Kitato Front Gate?
- Yes, from outside. It faces Honmachi-dori and can be viewed from the public road, but the grounds inside are private and closed.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kitato Front Gate (旧喜多藤表門, Kyū-Kitato Omotemon) |
|---|---|
| Location | 118-1 Honmachi, Nabari City, Mie Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), Registration No. 24-296 |
| Year Designated | 2021 (registered 14 October 2021) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber, tile roof partly copper, width 2.6 meters, with side walls |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the public road only (no entry) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kitato Front Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013738
- Cultural Properties (Nabari City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.nabari.lg.jp/s061/010/020/000/030/201502051897.html
- List of Designated Cultural Properties in Nabari (Nabari City, PDF, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.nabari.lg.jp/s061/010/020/000/030/R7shiteibunnkazaiitirann64.pdf
- Former Kitato Restaurant Inn in Nabari to Become a Registered Cultural Property (Chunichi Shimbun, 21 November 2020, in Japanese)
- https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/157953
Last verified: 2026.09.27
