Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Gate and Wall

Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Gate and Wall

The Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Gate and Wall (朝日屋原薬局門及び塀, Asahiya Hara Yakkyoku Mon oyobi Hei) is the 1912 gateway and street fence that continue south from the main house of Asahiya Hara Pharmacy in Honcho 2-chome, Shiki City, Saitama Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 1, 2003.

Next to the main house stands a one-Ken udekimon, a plain gate whose small roof rests on arms, or udeki, passed through the tops of the posts. Board fences run out on either side, their vertical planks with thin battens nailed over the joints. Gate and fences share the same kind of roof: copper sheet over widely spaced rafters. The ensemble measures 1.8 meters across the gate opening and 6.7 meters in total length.

Why It Was Registered

The Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Gate and Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. In the words of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it completes the formal front of the estate together with the main house.

On its own, the shopfront would read as just another store on the street. Add the gate and fence and you can sense, from the pavement, that a deep property with storehouses and family rooms lies behind. Of the seven registered buildings, only these and the main house shape the view from the street.

What to Look For: Hidden Sliding Doors

At first glance the fence runs unbroken on both sides of the gate. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, though, the northern half of each side is actually a sliding door that retracts into the fence. Shut, it is a wall; open, it is a second entrance, presumably letting people and goods in without using the gate.

Look at the roofs too. The rafters are set far apart and covered in lightweight copper, a clear step down from the heavy pantile roof of the main house next door. The front of the estate grades its roofs by the importance of what lies beneath.

The vertical boards and their battens score the face of the fence with fine vertical lines.

Visiting the Gate and Wall

Because the Asahiya Hara Pharmacy Gate and Wall stands right on the street, you can see it from the public road on the west side. The property is private and you cannot go through the gate. Please look at the sliding sections of fence without touching them.

There is no published policy on photography; shoot from the street and be considerate of the residents. Directions are on the Asahiya Hara Pharmacy page.