A Samurai-Quarter Gate Still in Use
The Shimoina Education Association Former Kurosu Family Gate (下伊那教育会旧黒須家門, Shimoina Kyōikukai Kyū-Kurosu-ke Mon) is a late Edo-period Yakuimon gate in Nakanomachi, Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, originally the front gate of the Kurosu family residence and now the entrance to the Shimoina Education Association's annex, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 October 2014.
The gate is 2.4 metres wide, with a gabled Sangawara-buki tiled roof. The national database dates it to the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1830, which makes it the oldest of the association's four registered structures. It stands west of the Former Kurosu Family Storehouse and faces the street, with the Shimoina Education Hall across the road to the northeast.
The association bought the Kurosu residence in 1946 as its annex, and the gate came with it. The association's history records that the "Kurosu gate" was repaired in 2012.
Why It Was Registered
The Former Kurosu Family Gate was registered for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says it recalls the townscape of the former samurai quarter and calls it a valuable survivor from the days of the Iida domain. Iida City likewise presents it as a gate that conveys the feel of a street of samurai residences.
Nakanomachi was part of that samurai quarter, and a residence's front gate was the face it showed to the street. That a gate from the castle-town era still stands on the same street and still serves as an entrance is what gives the Kurosu gate its value.
What to Look At
The yakuimon form
A yakuimon is a gate in which two main posts carrying the doors and two shorter rear posts share a single gabled roof. At 2.4 metres wide, the Former Kurosu Family Gate is a compact example, quiet and well proportioned, the kind of gate that suited a samurai household.
Doors hung on waraza
The plank doors between the main posts are hung on waraza, wooden blocks fixed to the posts and beams that receive the pivots at the top and bottom of each door. It is a traditional way of hanging a door without hinges.
Split bamboo under the eaves
The underside of the roof is left exposed as a Keshō-yaneura finished ceiling, and the lath beneath the roof, known as komai, is made of split bamboo and left on view. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles this out as a distinctive detail; you see it when you look up at the gate.
Signboard and stone marker
In photographs on the association's website, a wooden signboard on the main post reads "Shimoina Education Association Annex," and a stone marker to the right of the gate is carved "Site of the Kurosu Residence." A wall with white plaster above and dark boards below runs off on both sides. The association's history describes the registration as the Kurosu gate and wall, but the national database registers only the gate, 2.4 metres wide.
Visiting
The Former Kurosu Family Gate faces the street in Nakanomachi, so it can be seen from there. The ground behind it belongs to the association's annex, and as of October 2026 there was no notice of public access to the annex.
The gate is also the working entrance for people going in and out of the annex. Please keep clear of the doorway while looking, and do not go through the gate.
Q&A
- When was the Former Kurosu Family Gate in Iida built?
- In the late Edo period; the national database gives a range of 1751 to 1830. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 October 2014.
- What type of gate is the Former Kurosu Family Gate?
- A yakuimon gate 2.4 metres wide with a gabled tiled roof. Its plank doors are hung on waraza pivot blocks, and the underside of the roof shows split-bamboo lath.
- Whose gate was the Shimoina Education Association Former Kurosu Family Gate?
- It was the front gate of the Kurosu family residence. The Shimoina Education Association bought the residence in 1946 as an annex, and the gate now serves as its entrance.
- Why was the Kurosu gate registered as a cultural property?
- It recalls the landscape of Iida's former samurai quarter and is regarded as a valuable survivor from the Iida domain period, so it was registered for contributing to the historic landscape.
- Can I see the Former Kurosu Family Gate?
- Yes, from the street, which the gate faces. The ground behind it belongs to the association's annex, so please do not enter.
Basic Information
| Name | Shimoina Education Association Former Kurosu Family Gate (下伊那教育会旧黒須家門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 358-3 Nakanomachi, Iida City, Nagano Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/10/7 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, tiled roof, frontage 2.4 metres |
| Owner | Shimoina Education Association (public interest incorporated association) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the street (the ground behind the gate belongs to the annex) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Former Kurosu Family Gate (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010144
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Kurosu Family Gate (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/210067
- Iida City Board of Education: Education Handbook FY2024, Cultural Properties Section, PDF (Japanese)
- https://www.city.iida.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/70930.pdf
- Shimoina Education Association: History (Japanese)
- https://shimoinakyoikukai.jp/kyoikukai_008/
- Shimoina Education Association: Location, with a photograph of the annex gate (Japanese)
- https://shimoinakyoikukai.jp/access/
Last verified: 2026.10.08
