Horii Family Residence Nagayamon Gate

A Gatehouse beside the Anashi River

The Horii Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (堀井家住宅長屋門) is the gatehouse of a family estate of 1932 in Anashi, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 2, 2004 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 27 square metres; registration number 29-0085.

The Gate on the Front of the Estate

The Horii Family Residence Nagayamon Gate stands near the middle of the east side of the property (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its ridge runs north to south under pantiles, and the two ends differ: a plain gable to the south, a hip-and-gable to the north. The passage runs through the middle, with a room on each side.

It dates from 1932, the same year as the main house, and the wall running north from it is given as about the same date (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The street front of the estate appears to have been set out in one campaign.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape: together with the clear water of the Anashi River in front of it, the gate forms the face the estate shows to the outside.

What to Look For

The central bay is built of keyaki (zelkova) timber, and the front eaves are carried on projecting beams in the dashigeta style (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Above the doors sits a delicate transom of closely set thin slats, known as an osa-ranma.

Look also at the two ends of the roof: a gable to the south and a hip-and-gable to the north, so the profile changes from one side of the gate to the other.

Visiting

The gate stands on the east side of the estate, by the Anashi River. It is the gate of a private property; no official information was found on entry or interior access, so view it only from outside.