The Little Lodge by the Main Gate
The Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Gatehouse (信州大学繊維学部守衛所, Shinshū Daigaku Sen'i Gakubu Shueijo), formerly the Ueda Sericultural College Gatekeeper's Lodge, is a single-storey wooden gatehouse of 1912 standing just north of the main gate of Shinshu University's Ueda campus in Tokida, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 June 2013.
It was built as the gatekeeper's lodge (門衛詰所, mon'ei tsumesho) of Ueda Sericultural College. According to the university, the building put up as a gatehouse in 1912 is still in daily use as the campus security office. Only the old cocoon storehouse, now the faculty museum, is older on the Ueda campus.
Under a sheet-metal roof it covers just 24 square metres, the smallest of the three registered buildings on the campus, yet it is the one that everyone coming through the main gate walks past.
Why It Was Registered
The gatehouse was registered on 21 June 2013, in the 75th round of registrations, as Nagano Prefecture's building number 20-0428. It was listed on the same day as the museum and under the same criterion, as a building that contributes to the historic landscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it has been moved twice within the campus and still conveys the historic character of the college grounds. Its database gives two dates for the building, 1912 (Taisho 1) and 1929 (Showa 4), and also records a move in 1964 (Showa 39) and a renovation in 1970 (Showa 45). 1929 was also the year the auditorium was completed. When the earlier of the two moves took place could not be confirmed from published sources.
Structure and Details
A half-octagon facing the gate
The Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Gatehouse is a small single-storey timber building with a hipped roof covered in steel sheet. Its front is a half-octagon, made by cutting off both front corners of the plan, and this is where the office and the service window sit. With the corners cut back, the front seems designed to give a wide view of the gate, which is exactly what a gatekeeper needs.
Weatherboards and small ornaments
The walls are clad in Shitami-itabari weatherboarding, and decoration is placed above the windows and along the ridge. Look up at the window heads and the roof line and you will see that even this modest working building was given a measure of ornament.
A tatami room at the back
Behind the office and window, the Agency notes, is a tatami-floored rest room. Watching the gate at the front and resting in turns at the back: the routine of the gatekeepers is laid out within those 24 square metres.
Visiting
The Ueda gatehouse is still a working security office, and its interior is not open to the public.
Because it stands just north of the main gate, the exterior can be seen on the way into the campus. The half-octagonal front, the weatherboarded walls and the ornaments above the windows and on the ridge are all visible from around the gate. Staff are on duty inside, so please do not linger at the service window or photograph the interior. Directions to the campus are on the Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology page.
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Q&A
- When was the Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Gatehouse built?
- It was built in 1912 as the gatehouse of Ueda Sericultural College and is the second-oldest building on the Ueda campus.
- Has the old Ueda Sericultural College gatehouse been moved?
- Yes. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says it has been moved twice within the campus, and its database records a move in 1964 and a renovation in 1970.
- What does the Shinshu University textiles faculty gatehouse look like?
- It is a single-storey timber building with a hipped steel-sheet roof and a half-octagonal front made by cutting off the corners. The walls are weatherboarded, with ornament above the windows and on the ridge.
- Is the Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Gatehouse still in use?
- Yes. According to the university it is still used as the campus security office.
- Can visitors see the Shinshu University gatehouse in Ueda?
- The interior is not open. The building stands just north of the main gate, so the exterior can be seen at the campus entrance.
Basic Information
| Name | Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Gatehouse (Former Ueda Sericultural College Gatekeeper's Lodge) (信州大学繊維学部守衛所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-480 Tokida, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, and other lots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/6/21 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single storey, sheet-metal roof, building area 24 square metres |
| Owner | Shinshu University, National University Corporation |
| Public Access | Interior not open (working security office; exterior visible from near the main gate) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology Gatehouse (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009597
- Shinshu University Archives Center: A Historical Walk through Shinshu University (Japanese)
- https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/institution/library/archives/news/upload/s_historicalwalk_200303_s.pdf
- Shinshu University Faculty of Textile Science and Technology: Access and Campus Map (Japanese)
- https://www.shinshu-u.ac.jp/faculty/textiles/guidance/map.html
Last verified: 2026.10.08
