The gate on the southern side
The Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate is a mid-Meiji gate in Hattori, Mabicho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, listed as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 6 August 2025.
It is a timber gate 1.9 m wide, Kirizuma-zukuri in form, entered from the long side and roofed in Hongawarabuki tiles. It opens on the southern boundary of the compound, immediately east of the Shoraitei teahouse. Anyone calling on the family came through here, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a gate whose bearing reflects the prosperity of the house.
Hongawara tiling, in which round and flat tiles alternate, is heavy work reserved here for the main house and this gate. The storehouses and the wall use lighter pantiles. The distinction tells you which buildings the family considered formal.
How it stands up, and why it was listed
The gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, the criterion applied to the four structures that shape what the compound presents to the outside.
Its interest lies in how the posts are set. The main posts stand towards the south, braced by subsidiary posts front and back. On the front, brackets project from above the tie beam to carry the eaves purlin, and a ceiling is fitted beneath. Those horizontal brackets transfer roof load outward from the posts, and with braced posts a gate only 1.9 m wide can carry a heavy tiled roof without distortion.
Fitting a ceiling into a gate is a decision about the moment of passing through: it gives you something finished to look up at. One of the official photographs of this gate is of the ceiling.
Where the effort went
The east and west walls are finished in Shikkui plaster, with the lower section faced in Namako-kabe on the outside and vertical boarding within.
Namako-kabe is made by fixing flat tiles and raising the joints in rounded ridges of plaster. It resists rain and reads as a lattice from a distance. Using it only on the side facing the road answers both durability and appearance, and the same finish appears on the west face of the south storehouse. In this compound, lattice plaster turns up in exactly the places that are seen.
Through the gate, the main house lies straight ahead; turning west leads to the middle gate and the garden. The front gate is where the circulation of the whole compound begins.
Visiting
The Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate belongs to a private house and cannot be walked through. It is, however, the building here that an outsider sees most easily, since it opens on the southern boundary. From the road you get a straight view of the tiled gable and the lattice plaster along its base.
The ceiling and the boarded inner face are not visible from outside. Photograph from the road only, keeping the interior of the property and the residents out of the frame. Directions are on the Sezaki Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Okayama
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate
- [ Kurashiki Bikan District & Korakuen Garden Tours ]
Q&A
- Can I walk through the Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate?
- No. It serves a private home and the grounds are closed. The gate can be looked at from the road on the southern side.
- How large is the Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate?
- It is 1.9 m wide. Small, but roofed in heavy hongawara tiling of alternating round and flat tiles.
- How is the Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate built?
- Main posts set towards the south are braced front and back by subsidiary posts, brackets above the tie beam carry the eaves purlin at the front, and a ceiling is fitted below.
- Why was the Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate registered?
- It was listed on 6 August 2025 for its contribution to the historic landscape, described as a gate whose bearing reflects the prosperity of a merchant house.
- Where can the namako-kabe on the Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate be seen?
- On the outer face of the lower wall, facing the road. The inner face is boarded instead.
Basic Information
| Name | Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 914-1 Tsujido, Hattori, Mabicho, Kurashiki, Okayama |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2025/08/06 (Reiwa 7) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, tile roof, 1.9 m frontage |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence; exterior only, from outside the grounds) |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Sezaki Family Residence Front Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00015509
- Sezaki Family Residence Main House and Other Structures (Kurashiki City Board of Education)
- https://www.city.kurashiki.okayama.jp/culture/art/1007596/1007597/1011206/1007792/1016887.html
Last verified: 2026.09.17
