Kawai Genshichiro Family Residence Middle Gate and Wall

What Is the Kawai Genshichiro Family Residence Middle Gate and Wall?

The Kawai Genshichiro Family Residence Middle Gate and Wall (河合源七郎家住宅中門及び塀, Kawai Genshichirō-ke Jūtaku Chūmon oyobi Hei) is an early Taisho-era wooden gate and wall of the 1910s in Kitayagi-cho, Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 2, 2009. It runs between the bathhouse behind the main house and the detached parlor, dividing the service passage at the back of the house from the inner garden in front of the parlor.

The wall bends along its course, measuring 5.7 meters in length and 2.7 meters in height, under a Sangawara-buki tiled roof. A gate opens near its east end; according to Nara Prefecture, it has double board doors and a small copper-roofed canopy.

Why It Was Registered

The Kawai Genshichiro middle gate and wall was registered for design that serves as a model. Of the estate's 7 registered structures, only this one and the detached parlor and tea room qualified on that criterion; the other 5 were recognized for their contribution to the streetscape. The 2 structures around the inner garden were valued for their craftsmanship itself.

What the Agency for Cultural Affairs highlights is that the wall has two different faces. On the service side it is white Shikkui plaster over vertical board skirting. On the garden side it is grey plaster, drawn with a comb into fine grooves, above a skirting of split bamboo. The description calls it a wall designed to suit each of the spaces it borders.

The service passage led to the kitchen and bath, the working heart of the house; the inner garden faced the Taisho-era parlor and tea room where guests were received. The same wall shows townhouse whitewash and boards to one side and the muted grey and bamboo of a tea garden to the other.

What to Look For

Combed Grey Plaster and Bamboo

On the garden side of the Kawai Genshichiro Family Residence Middle Gate and Wall, the grey plaster was finished by dragging a comb across the surface, leaving fine parallel ridges. Unlike smooth whitewash, the ridges catch light and shadow and suit the plantings and bark-covered posts of the parlor. The bamboo skirting takes splashes and wear at ground level and echoes the rustic fences of a tea garden.

Board Doors Under Copper

The middle gate itself has double board doors topped by a copper canopy, lighter than the tiled roof of the wall, marking the opening without fuss. Members of the household passed through it from the service passage into the garden.

How to Visit

The Kawai Genshichiro Family Residence Middle Gate and Wall is deep inside the estate and not open to the public (checked September 27, 2026). It is hidden from the Shimotsumichi by the main house.

The owner, Tsuchihashiya Genshichi Co., Ltd., rents the house as a photo and film studio by reservation, and its website lists the inner garden among the shooting locations. Only such bookings allow both faces of the wall to be seen.