Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn

What Is the Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn?

The Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn (旧井上家住宅東門及び納屋, Kyū-Inoue-ke Jūtaku Higashimon oyobi Naya) is a late Edo-period Nagayamon, or row-house gate, on a village headman's estate in Kusaka, Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 15 August 2024.

The Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn stands on the east edge of the estate and opens onto the eastern street. As in any nagayamon, rooms flank the gateway under a single long roof. The East Barn adjoins it to the north and the Front Rice Storehouse to the south. Its building area is 39 square meters.

Dating and Registration

The Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn is registration number 27-0924, entered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, together with the East Barn and the Front Rice Storehouse, it forms the long frontage along the east side of the estate.

The Agency's database dates the Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn to the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868, with alterations in the early Taisho period and in 1995. The same entry's period field, however, reads Taisho, which does not agree with the dating field. The sources checked do not settle which is correct. This article follows the dating field and treats the gate as late Edo.

Gateway, Attendants' Room and Barn

The Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn is a single-storey building with a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof in Sangawara-buki tile and its long side to the street. The walls are plastered in Shikkui, with Tateita-bari vertical boarding at the base.

The gateway is placed a little north of center and closed by a large door with a small wicket, or Kugurido, set into it. The wicket let people come and go while the big door stayed shut, and the full door could be opened when more room was needed.

North of the gateway is a single tatami room with a small earthen entry, used as a room for attendants. South of the gateway is one earth-floored room serving as a barn. A room for people and a room for goods on either side of the entrance is the classic arrangement of a nagayamon, and the Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn keeps it clearly.

Visiting the Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn

The Former Inoue Family Residence, including the Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn, is not open to the public, and you cannot pass through the gate into the grounds.

Because the Former Inoue Family Residence East Gate and Barn faces the eastern street, its front, with the large door and wicket, can be seen from the road. Take in the whole east side while you are there, from the East Barn in the north to the Front Rice Storehouse in the south. Directions are on the Former Inoue Family Residence page.