A Relocated Gate That Fronts the Estate
The Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate is a late Edo front gate, moved in the middle Meiji years to the east edge of a silkworm-egg producer's estate in Kamishiojiri, Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 24, 2021. In Japanese it is 佐藤家住宅（三ツ引）門, Satō-ke Jūtaku (Mitsubiki) Mon. The opening is 2.6 meters wide, with short flanking walls, Sodobei, on either side.
It is dated to late Edo, between 1830 and 1868. Ueda City records that the estate's gate was relocated here during the boom years of the egg trade, between late Edo and Meiji. Where it came from is not stated in any source we could find.
Why It Was Registered
The registration criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate with forming the formal front of an old family's residential compound.
The roof is gabled and tiled. Square main posts are tied to a pair of rear support posts with tie beams, and a lintel beam spans the main posts to lock the frame together. The eave purlins rest on brackets projecting from the main posts. A pair of plank doors hangs between the main posts, and each rear post carries its own small roof, separate from the main one.
Short walls half a bay wide flank the gate, and the north one has a small wicket door, a Kugurido. With the big doors shut, the household could still come and go through the wicket.
What to Look For
The Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate stands at the far east end of the lot, away from the main house. Step through it and the estate opens out, with the main house to the north and the rearing rooms and storehouses to the south. For a family that had served as village headman, the gate was also where its standing was put on display.
Remember that this gate was moved. It was built somewhere else in late Edo and became the face of this estate in mid-Meiji, one more step in the way the compound took shape alongside the egg business.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database has a photograph of the east side that shows the plank doors between the main posts and the small roofs over the rear posts layered behind the main roof.
Visiting the Gate
The Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate is the front gate of a private estate, and visitors cannot go through it. Because it stands on the east edge of the lot, the gate is seen from outside the property. We found no published guidance on visits or photography. The gate is also the residents' way in and out, so take care not to block it.
Directions to the estate and the story of the whole compound are on the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) page.
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Q&A
- Can you visit the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate?
- You cannot enter the estate, which is private. The gate stands on the east edge of the lot, so it is seen from outside, but there is no published guidance on visits or photography.
- When was the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate built?
- It was built in late Edo, between 1830 and 1868, and moved to this estate in the middle Meiji years. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 24, 2021.
- Where was the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate moved from?
- Ueda City records that the gate was relocated during the boom in the egg trade between late Edo and Meiji, but none of the sources we checked says where it came from.
- How big is the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate?
- It is a timber gate with an opening 2.6 meters wide under a gabled tile roof. Plank doors hang between the main posts, the rear posts carry small roofs of their own, and flanking walls stand on both sides, with a wicket door in the north wall.
- Where on the estate is the Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate?
- It is the front gate on the east edge of the lot. The Storage Shed, with its upstairs rearing rooms, stands along the same side.
Basic Information
| Name | Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 90 Minamigawa, Kamishiojiri, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021/6/24 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, tiled roof, opening 2.6 meters wide, with flanking walls on both sides |
| Owner | Private owner (name not published) |
| Public Access | Estate interior not open; gate seen from outside |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013796
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki) Gate
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/542538
- Cultural Properties of Ueda City (Ueda Citizens' ICT Promotion Center): Sato Family Residence (Mitsubiki)
- https://museum.umic.jp/bunkazai/document2/127.php
Last verified: 2026.09.26
