About the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate
The Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate (南家住宅門屋及び庭門, Minami-ke Jūtaku Mon'ya oyobi Niwamon) is a Nagayamon gatehouse built in 1912 on the northern edge of the Minami homestead in Oaza Ikenouchi, Gose City, Nara Prefecture, together with the garden gate attached to it, and the pair became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 14, 2021. The gatehouse and the garden gate are registered as a single item.
The gatehouse is a single-storey timber building with a footprint of 35 square meters, its ridge running east to west under a hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. The garden gate is tiled and has a total length of 3.1 meters.
Why the Gatehouse and Garden Gate Were Registered
The Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the gatehouse as a dignified nagayamon that forms the formal street front of an old family's estate.
Only this gatehouse and the wooden fence to its west actually face the road, so for anyone looking from outside, the Minami gatehouse is the face of the whole homestead. Pass through it and you are looking at the front of the main house, which faces north toward the gate.
A Gateway Flanked by Storerooms
The gateway of the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse is two Ken wide and sits slightly west of the center of the long building. Rooms on either side of it are used as storerooms. Combining a passage and storage under one roof is the usual arrangement of a nagayamon, a gate building that doubles as a row of rooms.
The outer walls are Shinkabe, with the timber posts left visible, plastered in white Shikkui, and the lower part of the wall is clad in vertical boards. That contrast between white plaster and vertical boarding is what gives the street front its character.
A Short Wall Running South with a Sliding Garden Gate
The garden gate is set midway along a short wall that runs south from the southwest corner of the gatehouse. Its opening is closed with a pair of sliding doors that pass each other. The wall and gate are tiled and only 3.1 meters long in total.
The gatehouse closes the northern edge of the plot from east to west, while the garden-gate wall runs off it at a right angle toward the south.
Visiting the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate
The Minami Family Residence Gatehouse faces the road, so its north front can be seen from the public street, including the white walls, the boarded lower walls, and the irimoya-zukuri roof.
The garden gate lies inside the gatehouse and is hard to see from the road. The storerooms and the rest of the interior are not open to the public, and visitors should not step through the gateway onto the property.
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Q&A
- When was the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate built?
- It was built in 1912, the first year of the Taishō era.
- Why is the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on October 14, 2021, for contributing to the historic landscape, as a dignified nagayamon forming the street front of an old family estate.
- What are the rooms beside the gateway of the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse used for?
- According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the rooms on both sides of the gateway are storerooms.
- Where is the garden gate of the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate?
- It is midway along a short wall that runs south from the southwest corner of the gatehouse, and it closes with sliding doors.
- Can visitors see the Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate?
- The north front of the gatehouse can be seen from the public road. The garden gate is inside, and the interior is not open to the public.
Basic Information
| Name | Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 923-1 Oaza Ikenouchi, Gose City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on October 14, 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Gatehouse building area 35 square meters, garden gate total length 3.1 meters |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (gatehouse exterior visible from the public road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014077
- Cultural Heritage Online: Minami Family Residence Gatehouse and Garden Gate (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/520427
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs report of July 16, 2021, list of registered structures (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93246101_01.pdf
- Gose City: Registered Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.city.gose.nara.jp/0000001353.html
Last verified: 2026.10.04
