What Is the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
The Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (北條家住宅長屋門, Hōjō-ke Jūtaku Nagayamon) is a thatched gatehouse from the end of the Edo period at the entrance to the Hojo family estate in Izumi, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 18 October 2006 under number 15-0223.
A Nagayamon is a gate set into the middle of a long, low building, with rooms on either side of the passage. This one stands close to the eastern edge of the plot and faces east. It is a single-storey timber structure under a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof of Kayabuki thatch, with a building area of 60 square meters. Of all the buildings at the Hojo Family Residence, it is the only one that fronts the street.
A Large Gate for a Thatched Roof
The Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate is 7 Ken long and 2.5 ken deep, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs considers fairly large for a thatched gate.
Its front has no windows at all. The Agency cites that plain, closed face as what gives the estate the look of a farming household from the road, and the gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The Hojo family were doctors, but they were also landowners in Izumi, and it is the landowner the gate presents to the village: a blank wall, a deep thatched roof, and nothing to suggest a medical practice inside.
Inside the Gate, and Its Date
A passage 1.5 ken wide runs through the middle of the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate, with two earth-floored Doma rooms beside it. Rooms without raised floors like these were practical for farm work, handling tools and harvested crops.
The sources date the gate in different ways. The national database says the end of the Edo period. Sado City notes that prayer tablets from the Tenpō era (1830 to 1844) were found in the roof space, and on that basis suggests the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate may go back to the early 19th century. The tablets show, at the least, that the gate was standing by then.
Seeing the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
Because the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate faces the street, it can be seen from the public road. The windowless front and the broad hipped thatch above it are what to look for.
The earth-floored rooms inside are not open. From mid-September 2026, Sado City has also asked visitors not to enter the grounds while work is carried out on the main house, so please do not walk through the gate; view it from the road.
Q&A
- When was the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate built?
- The national database dates it to the end of the Edo period. Sado City, citing prayer tablets from the Tenpō era (1830 to 1844) found in the roof space, thinks it may go back to the early 19th century.
- How big is the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- It is a single-storey timber gatehouse 7 ken long and 2.5 ken deep, with a building area of 60 square meters, which is fairly large for a thatched gate.
- What is inside the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- A central passage 1.5 ken wide with two earth-floored rooms beside it. The rooms are not open to visitors.
- When was the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate registered as a cultural property?
- On 18 October 2006, as Registered Tangible Cultural Property number 15-0223, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- Can I see the Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate from outside?
- Yes. It faces the street and can be seen from the public road. Since mid-September 2026, Sado City has asked visitors not to enter the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (北條家住宅長屋門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 33 Izumi Otsu, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 15-0223 |
| Year Designated | Registered 18 October 2006 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, thatched roof, building area 60 square meters |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Interior not open (exterior visible from the street) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00005806
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hojo Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/185713
- Registered Tangible Cultural Properties: Hojo Family Residence (Sado City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4963.html
- Important Cultural Property: Hojo Family Residence (Sado City, in Japanese)
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4924.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28
