Naruko Family Residence Front Gate

A Gate for Guests

The Naruko Family Residence Front Gate (成子家住宅表門, Naruko-ke Jūtaku Omotemon) in Ozaki, Hannan City, Osaka Prefecture, is a Taisho-era (1912–1926) gate opening onto the front street of the Naniwa Shuzo brewers' home, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 12 October 2001. It is a timber Munamon, a ridge-roofed gate on two posts, with a frontage of 2.3 metres, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs lists it together with an attached wall on its west side.

It stands at the southeast of the compound, set into the wall that runs from the right-hand end of the main house. Through it lies a forecourt, and beyond that the guest annex. Customers of the shop went into the main house; guests to be entertained came through the Naruko Family Residence Front Gate.

Modest, With Weight

The form is a one-bay munamon: two posts carrying a ridge, with a single bay between them, under a Sangawara-buki pantile roof. The agency calls it simple, and yet, as the entrance to the reception rooms of an old-established brewer, restrained but carrying real weight.

The key is where it stands. The gate is not flush with the wall on either side but set back from it by one bay. The wall line steps inward in front of the gate, making a small recess off the street. A visitor pauses there, half a step out of the traffic, before passing through.

Like the other nine structures, it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, one of four registered structures facing the front street along with the main house, the wall and Brewhouse No. 4.

One point needs explaining. The agency lists the gate with an attached west wall, while its note on the separately registered wall describes a wall running 10.5 metres from the main house past the gate. Where the gate's own wall ends and the registered wall begins cannot be told from the published data.

What to Look For

When you look at the Naruko Family Residence Front Gate from the street, stand a little to one side as well as in front. The one-bay setback reads far better at an angle than head-on.

The small pantile roof looks light beside the massive round-tiled roof of the main house. Through the opening you can glimpse the forecourt and the annex side, enough to understand what the gate was for.

Seeing the Gate

The Naruko Family Residence Front Gate faces the front street and can be seen at any time. Cars use the road, so step aside if you stop. The space inside is part of a private home and cannot be entered without a booking.

You pass through the gate into the forecourt on Naniwa Shuzo's paid, reservation-only brewery tour. Ask your guide what you may photograph. Directions and booking details are on the Naruko Family Residence page.