Kawase Family Residence Front Gate

About the Kawase Family Residence Front Gate

The Kawase Family Residence Front Gate (河瀬家住宅表門, Kawase-ke Jūtaku Omotemon) is a late Edo gate, dating from 1751 to 1829, in Tamoncho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture; it was moved here around 1942 from Yakushi-in, a former sub-temple of Tōdai-ji, and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 27, 2006. The timber gate has a tiled roof and a frontage of 2.0 m.

It stands at the southeast corner of the compound, flanked by the south earthen wall built at about the same time. Of the five Kawase structures, this is the one that meets the street and gives the house its public face.

A One-Bay Munamon Under Temple Tiles

The Kawase front gate is a Munamon, a ridge-roofed gate one bay wide. Its Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof is laid in Hongawarabuki, the heavy temple-style tiling of alternating round and flat tiles.

Full temple tiling on a gate only 2.0 m across is a clue to where it began: this was built as the gate of a Buddhist sub-temple.

From Yakushi-in, With Changes

The Kawase Family Residence Front Gate originally belonged to Yakushi-in, one of the sub-temples of Tōdai-ji. When it was brought to the Kawase house, its posts and beams were kept intact.

The changes came at the eaves and ceiling. The Taruki rafters were reset in a single, very widely spaced row, keeping the overhang short, and the ceiling was made from reused Shitomido shutter boards. The Agency for Cultural Affairs reads these as alterations made during the move.

A temple frame with a trimmed overhang and a ceiling of salvaged shutters: the result has the lightness of Sukiya-zukuri design, and the Agency credits the gate with giving the residence an elegant approach.

Why the Front Gate Was Registered

The Kawase Family Residence Front Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Facing a lane in Tamoncho, it frames the entrance to the compound together with the south earthen wall on either side.

In its note on that wall, the Agency again pairs the two, saying that gate and wall together shape a street scene of real character.

Seeing the Kawase Front Gate

Because the Kawase front gate faces the street, its exterior can be seen from the lane. Beyond it lies a private compound that cannot be entered (checked September 2026). Step back a little to take in the short eaves and the temple tiles. There is no official guidance on photography, so avoid capturing the house behind the gate. Directions to the estate are on the Kawase Family Residence page.