The Small Gate Opposite the Main One
Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate is a timber gate of 1924 in Kamimiyanaga, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2001.
The estate occupies a near square plot of about 1000 tsubo, and Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate opens near the middle of its western side, directly opposite the main gate on the east. Between them the two gates mark the ends of an axis running right through the property.
The type is the same as the main gate, a munamon of one bay with a single doorway, but the scale is not. The opening is 2 metres, 1 metre less than the 3.0 metres of the main gate. Where the main gate has side doors, this one has only its leaves, with brick walling running off to left and right.
Why It Was Registered
Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate is registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the nation, recognised as part of the western face of the estate.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it plain but soundly detailed. Set against the word used for the main gate, which is imposing, the contrast is instructive: two gates of the same type on the same estate, deliberately ranked.
The ranking shows in material and dimension. The main gate gets good zelkova, side doors and rear struts; Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate does without all three. What it does not do without is care in the joints, and that is what earned it a place on the register.
What to Look For
The part most people walk past at Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate is the bottom. Two stone steps sit outside the threshold, which means the ground inside stands higher than the road, a trace of how the site was built up when the estate was laid out.
The eaves use widely spaced rafters, the same treatment as the main gate. Applying it to a small secondary gate shows that one design intelligence ran across the whole estate rather than stopping at the showpieces.
The record also singles out the boarding of the small wall panel above the opening, noting that lighting was taken into account. Boarding that panel and thinking about how a lamp would sit and throw light means the gate was meant to be used after dark, which brings the daily life of a 1920s estate into unusually sharp focus.
Brick walls continue on both sides. The north wall runs away to the right and the south wall turns off to the left, so Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate is the point where the two meet.
Visiting
Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate faces a public road on the west and can be studied from outside. The stone steps, the doors, the spaced rafters and the boarded panel above the opening all read from the street.
The ground beyond is private and closed. Do not look or lean through; stay on the roadway.
The gate faces west, so the light comes round in the afternoon. Mornings leave it in shadow and the detail goes flat. If you want to see the step up clearly, come later in the day.
Directions to the estate and the conditions for visiting are on the Hisatsune Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Oita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- How does Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate differ from the main gate?
- In scale. The main gate is 3.0 metres wide with side doors and is built of good zelkova; the rear gate is a smaller ridge gate 2 metres wide with no side doors.
- Where is Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate?
- Near the middle of the western side of the estate, directly opposite the main gate on the eastern side.
- What should I look for at Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate?
- The two stone steps outside the threshold, the widely spaced rafters of the eaves, and the boarded panel above the opening, which was detailed with lighting in mind.
- Can Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate be visited?
- The exterior can be seen from the public road on the west. The ground beyond the gate is private and cannot be entered.
- Is there a better time of day to see Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate?
- The afternoon. The gate faces west, so it sits in shadow during the morning and the detail is hard to read.
Basic Information
| Name | Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-1 Kamimiyanaga, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 28 August 2001 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber frame, tiled roof, frontage 2 metres |
| Owner | Private individual |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; exterior viewing from public roads only |
References
- National Designated Cultural Properties Database, Hisatsune Family Residence Rear Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002339
- Cultural Properties of Nakatsu City (Nakatsu City)
- https://www.city-nakatsu.jp/doc/2024101700025/
- List of Nationally Designated and Selected Cultural Properties (Oita Prefecture)
- https://www.pref.oita.jp/kyoiku/tmp/bunka/post-101/1.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.14
