A Gate That Was Also an Office
Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate is a single storey timber building of 1924 in Kamimiyanaga, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2001.
It stands on the eastern side of the estate like the main gate, but further north. The ridge runs north to south, the front faces east, and the roof is a hipped yosemune form laid in sangawara pantiles. The building is long and narrow, 51 square metres in area.
A nagayamon is a gate whose flanks are given over to rooms, so that gatehouse and accommodation share one structure. At Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate the northern 2 bays form a wide passage and the rest was fitted out as an office in the Western manner. Going through and sitting down to work happened under the same roof.
Why It Was Registered
Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate is registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the nation, recognised for its part in the eastern face of the estate, the side the public actually sees.
The walls are shinkabe, the frame left exposed. The front and the north flank are finished in white shikkui plaster, set deliberately against the brick walling next to them. The Agency for Cultural Affairs entry notes that the contrast is what pulls the eastern side of the estate together. Putting a white plane beside a red brown one was a decision about how the place would look from the road.
The Western style office says something too. The family ran coal mines, and the business needed somewhere to keep its papers. This is a building from a period when home and enterprise occupied the same plot of land.
What to Look For
Read Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate from north to south and it changes as you go. The northern 2 bays open wide for the passage; south of that the wall closes up and the office windows begin. The function switches sideways along the building rather than between floors.
Because the office was fitted out in the Western manner, its windows do not sit like Japanese joinery. Look at the proportion of the openings and the way the glazing bars divide them and the difference shows.
The seam where white plaster meets brick is worth finding. Colour and texture change abruptly at the point where the wall becomes the building. An overcast day serves better here, since the white does not blow out.
The main gate is the next structure south. The east road is the only place you can take in the zelkova gate and the plastered gatehouse in a single view.
Visiting
Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate faces a public road and shows itself well. The passage opening, the exposed posts, the plastered wall and the hipped roof can all be studied from the street.
The interior is closed, and nothing is advertised that would let a visitor see the former office. The ground beyond the passage is private.
Photograph from the road only, and keep the camera out of the gateway.
Directions and the conditions for visiting are set out on the Hisatsune Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Oita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate
- [ Beppu Hell Tour & Yufuin Onsen Hot Springs ]
Q&A
- What kind of building is Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate?
- A single storey timber structure of 51 square metres combining a gate with an office. The northern 2 bays form a wide passage and the remainder was fitted out as a Western style office.
- Why does Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate include an office?
- Because the family ran coal mines. Home and business shared the same site, so administrative space was built into the gate itself.
- How are the walls of Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate finished?
- In shinkabe, with the timber frame exposed, and the front and north flank rendered in white plaster, deliberately contrasted with the adjoining brick walls.
- Can Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate be visited?
- The exterior can be seen from the public road on the east. The interior is closed and the ground beyond the passage is private.
- Which stands further north, Hisatsune Family Residence Row House Gate or the main gate?
- The row house gate. Both are on the eastern side of the estate, with the main gate to the south and the row house gate to the north.
Basic Information
| Name | Hisatsune Family Residence Row House 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 building |
| Dimensions | Single storey timber frame, tiled roof, building area 51 square 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 Row House Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002331
- 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
