Matsuura Family Residence Gate Nagaya

About the Matsuura Family Residence Gate Nagaya

The Matsuura Family Residence Gate Nagaya (松浦家住宅門長屋, Matsuura-ke Jūtaku Mon-nagaya) is a single-storey timber gate building from around 1910 in Kudo, Oji-cho, Kitakatsuragi-gun, Nara Prefecture, entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on September 10, 2010. It was altered in 1957 and again in 2008.

A nagaya is a long, narrow building divided into rooms under a single roof. This one runs north from the north wall of the former rice storehouse along the east edge of the plot, with the estate's front gate set into its south end. Gate and range are one building, and it is the first structure anyone arriving at the Matsuura Family Residence faces.

A 19-Meter Front

The Matsuura Family Residence Gate Nagaya measures 19 m by 3.0 m, with a building area of 56 m², so it is more than six times as long as it is deep. Its Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles runs the full 19 m along the boundary and draws the outline of the estate's front.

The gate is not in the middle of the range but at its south end. Because the former rice storehouse adjoins it to the south, the gateway falls exactly where storehouse and range meet, so the entrance is flanked by storage on one side and the long gate building on the other.

Walls, a Well and a Washing Place

The lower walls are boarded, and above them the walls are Shinkabe construction, with the posts left showing, finished in white Shikkui plaster. Inside, the plaster is left at the intermediate coat. The rhythm of exposed posts contrasts with the smooth, post-hiding walls of the earth-walled storehouse next door, giving the one street front two different textures.

Toward the north end, the range contains a well and a washing place. With water facilities built in beside the front gate, the gate nagaya was more than an adjunct to the gate; it took on part of the household's daily work.

Why the Gate Nagaya Was Registered

The Matsuura Family Residence Gate Nagaya was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it continues from the former rice storehouse to form a solid, imposing front. Since the main house is set back in the middle of the plot, it is this range and the storehouse that give the estate its public face.

Seeing the Matsuura Family Residence Gate Nagaya

The Matsuura Family Residence is a private home and is not normally open (checked October 2026). The gate nagaya forms the east front of the estate, but how much of it can be seen from the road could not be confirmed. Visitors can pass through the front gate only during Oji Town's special openings. There is no official guidance on photography. Directions and contact details are on the Matsuura Family Residence page.