The Riverside Front of the House
The Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall (藤田佳宏家住宅表門及び土塀) is the front gate and boundary wall of a house of the late Meiji period in the Honmachi district of Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on January 15, 2010 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a timber gate with a tile roof, 2.2 metres wide and fitted with a stone bridge, and a timber-framed wall with a tile roof, 17 metres long; registration number 32-0107.
How the Front Gate Is Built
Of the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall, the gate is a 1-bay Munamon standing toward the east end of the front of the plot, with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
In its frame, bracket arms of an unusual shape cross the Kabuki head beam, and together they carry the projecting Udeki beams that hold up the roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Gotsu City Board of Education notes that the gate is finished in lime plaster and roofed with Sekishu tiles.
The gate is fitted with a stone bridge (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Because the Honmachi River runs along the front of the plot, the way into the house crosses the river.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency writes that the gate and wall together give the house a dignified front, and registered the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Because the main house sits back in the middle of the plot, it is this gate and wall that form the face of the property toward the Honmachi River.
The Earthen Wall on the Honmachi River
The earthen wall of the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence runs east to west on the embankment of the Honmachi River, which flows past the front of the plot (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is 17 metres long, with Shikkui plastered walls under a pantile roof.
What to Look For
At the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall, look closely at the point where the bracket arms cross the head beam of the gate; the Agency calls their shape distinctive, and they take the weight of the projecting beams from below.
The wall rises directly from the river embankment, so the embankment and the plastered wall read as one stacked surface.
Visiting
The Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall face the Honmachi River at the front of the plot, which makes them the easiest of the 4 registered structures to see from outside. No official information on access beyond the gate was found; please do not go inside, and photograph only from the public road.
Q&A
- What type of gate is the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate?
- A 1-bay munamon gate with a gabled pantile roof, whose unusually shaped bracket arms cross the head beam to carry the projecting beams (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- How long is the earthen wall of the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence?
- It is 17 metres long and runs east to west on the embankment of the Honmachi River (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where can I see the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall?
- They face the Honmachi River at the front of the plot and can be seen from the public road; the area inside the gate is not open.
- Where is the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall?
- At 286 Gotsucho and other lots, Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture, on the Honmachi River in the old Gotsu Honmachi district.
- When was the Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall registered?
- On January 15, 2010 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall (藤田佳宏家住宅表門及び土塀) |
|---|---|
| Location | 286 Gotsucho and other lots, Gotsu City, Shimane Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2010/01/15 (Heisei 22) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Gate: timber, tile roof, 2.2 m wide, with stone bridge; wall: timber, tile roof, 17 m long |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no information on interior access) |
References
- Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008057
- Fujita Yoshihiro Family Residence Front Gate and Earthen Wall (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/163668
- Gotsu City Board of Education, 2014 list of cultural properties (Japanese)
- https://www.city.gotsu.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/2945.pdf
Last verified: 2026.11.01
