A Gate for the Tea Garden Path
The Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate (平野家住宅茶室門, Hirano-ke Jūtaku Chashitsu-mon) is a timber Munamon gate built around 1922 in Nishikata, Bunkyo City, Tokyo, and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 September 1998. Its roof is covered with wooden boards.
In the Hirano Family Residence designed by Yasuoka Katsuya, it marked the start of the Roji path to the tea room. It originally stood at the southern end of the brick wall; that spot became a garage, and the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate now stands between the garage and the garden.
Why It Was Listed: Details in Bamboo
The posts are braced with buttress posts and carry a board roof with a mukuri, a gentle upward swell. It is the opposite of the upswept curve on the tiled roof of the main gate.
The ridge is held down by a length of round bamboo, and slender bamboo is used where a gutter would run. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out these touches as deliberate refinements. It was registered under the criterion for buildings that set a standard of design.
What to Look For: Two Gates, Two Characters
Set the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate beside the Hirano Family Residence Gate and the contrast is plain. The main gate has rendered brick posts and a curving tiled roof; the tea gate has timber posts, bamboo and a softly swelling board roof. Material and roofline separate the formal front of the house from the way into the world of tea.
It no longer stands where it was built, but its form as a garden-path gate is intact: light, modest, the first threshold a tea guest would pass.
Visiting
The Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate stands inside a private property, between the garage and the garden, and is not open. It is unlikely to be visible from the lane.
Photographs appear on the Agency's database page for the gate. Directions are on the Hirano Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Can you visit the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate?
- No. It stands inside a private property, is not open, and is unlikely to be visible from the lane.
- Where did the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate originally stand?
- At the southern end of the brick wall, as the entrance to the garden path leading to the tea room. That spot is now a garage.
- What is special about the roof of the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate?
- It is a gently swelling board roof whose ridge is held by round bamboo, with slender bamboo also used at the gutter line.
- When was the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate built?
- Around 1922. It was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 September 1998.
- What are the registration number and date of the Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate?
- It is registration no. 13-0026, entered in the eleventh round of listings on 2 September 1998.
Basic Information
| Name | Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate (平野家住宅茶室門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-9-12 Nishikata, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/9/2 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden munamon gate, board roof |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Not open to the public; barely visible from the lane |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 平野家住宅茶室門 (Hirano Family Residence Tea Room Gate)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00000645
- Bunkyo City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in the ward (Japanese)
- https://www.city.bunkyo.lg.jp/b047/p004380.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
