Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate: The 1859 Front of the Estate
The Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (高澤家住宅長屋門, Takazawa-ke Jūtaku Nagayamon) is the main entrance to the Takazawa estate in Nagano, Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture, a timber Nagayamon gatehouse dated by its ridge tag to 1859 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.
A nagayamon, literally a "row-house gate," is a gateway set into a long, low building whose side rooms once served as storage or servants' quarters. The Takazawa gate stands at the southern edge of the compound, facing south, with the main house straight ahead as you pass through. The gateway section is 5.5 meters wide and 5.5 meters deep under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, with single-story storerooms on each side. The register also notes repairs around 1975.
Why the Takazawa Nagayamon Gate Was Registered
The Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that the single-story storerooms on either side were rebuilt after a fire. The central gate survived, and its scale alone still conveys how imposing the estate's front once was. Gates of this kind, with rooms stretching out on each side to form part of the boundary wall, were typically built by the leading families of a village.
The date is not a matter of guesswork. According to Gyoda City, the gate keeps a Munafuda, a wooden ridge tag, stating that it was raised by Takazawa Isoemon on an auspicious day in 1859. Of the five Takazawa buildings, this is the only one whose year and builder are confirmed by a primary record.
What to Look For
Start with the double doors at the center of the Takazawa gate. They are heavy board doors studded with chikanamono, hemispherical metal bosses that began as the heads of reinforcing nails and became a mark of status on a gentry gate.
To the east of the doors is a small Kugurido, a wicket door you stoop through. It let the household come and go every day without swinging open the great doors.
Walk through and you feel the 5.5-meter depth of the passage. The short, shaded tunnel that opens onto the south face of the main house is exactly the effect Gyoda City's landscape award praised in 2005, when judges wrote that the noise of the town seems to drop away as you pass under the old gate.
Viewing the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
Because the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate is the entrance to the estate, its exterior can be seen from the front at any time. The dedicated parking area lies just west of it, so you arrive almost at the doors. The storerooms inside the gate building are not open.
To look closely at the metal bosses and the wicket door, come on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when the Takazawa Memorial Hall café and gallery is open. On other days the estate is simply a private home, so enjoy the gate quietly from the road.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Saitama
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
- [ Kawagoe Little Edo & Moominvalley Park ]
Q&A
- When was the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate built?
- A ridge tag on the gate records that Takazawa Isoemon built it in 1859. It was repaired around 1975.
- How big is the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- The gateway section is 5.5 meters wide and 5.5 meters deep, with a gabled pantile roof and single-story storerooms on each side.
- Are the side buildings of the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate original?
- No. The storerooms on both sides were rebuilt after a fire. The central gate survived and still shows the scale of the original frontage.
- Can I see the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate at any time?
- Its exterior is visible from the front at any time. Please enter the grounds only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, when the Takazawa Memorial Hall café and gallery is open.
- What are the round metal fittings on the Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- They are chikanamono, decorative metal bosses on the double board doors that signal the rank of the gate. A small wicket door sits to the east of them.
Basic Information
| Name | Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 3-5-41 Nagano, Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 11-0106) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 5.5 meters; depth 5.5 meters |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Exterior only (visible from the front of the gate) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Takazawa Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006013
- Gyoda City: Takazawa Family Residence (Main House and Four Other Buildings)
- https://www.city.gyoda.lg.jp/soshiki/shougaigakusyubu/bunkazaihogo/gyomu/rekishi_bunkazai/1/2323.html
- Takazawa Memorial Hall official website
- https://takazawakan.jimdofree.com/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
