A Farmhouse Gate Older Than the Brewery
Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate (石川酒造長屋門, Ishikawa Shuzō Nagayamon) is a single-storey timber Nagayamon gatehouse from the late Edo period (1830 to 1867) at the Ishikawa brewery in Kumagawa, Fussa City, Tokyo, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 17, 2004. A nagayamon is a gate with rooms built into it on either side, a mark of standing for a village household.
The Nagayamon Gate stands north of the Zatsugura, set back from the street and facing south. The Ishikawa family only began brewing on this site in 1880, so the gate belongs to the household that was here before the brewery. The brewery says it is thought to be about 250 years old, predating the family's sake business; the Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it more cautiously to the late Edo period, and the two estimates do not fully overlap.
Posts on Foundation Stones, Deep Eaves on the Front Only
The roof of the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate is Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable, clad in Dōban-buki copper, over 89 square meters of building area. The plan is the classic one for the type: a passage through the middle with a room on each side.
The posts stand on individual foundation stones rather than a continuous footing, and the walls are built so that the posts remain visible on the surface. The upper walls are finished in Shikkui plaster and the lower parts are boarded. Only the front has Degeta-zukuri eaves, in which beams carried out on projecting brackets push the roof edge well forward. The roof is framed with sasu, pairs of inclined timbers leaning together to carry the ridge.
Sasu framing was widely used in Japanese farmhouses. Together with the care lavished on the front eaves while the other sides are kept plain, it is what the agency points to when it says the gate recalls a Musashino farmhouse of the Edo period.
The Ishikawa Yahachirō Nameplate and Registration
The gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, as number 13-0169. It is the only timber building among the six at the brewery; the other five are all earthen-walled storehouses.
A nameplate on the gate reads Ishikawa Yahachirō. According to the brewery this is the name taken by each head of the Ishikawa family in turn, and the current company president holds it as the eighteenth head.
Seeing the Nagayamon Gate
The Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate can be seen from outside on the free, unbooked walk around the grounds, and the brewery lists it among the stops on that walk. There is no notice about going through the gate, so view it from the front.
Stand on the south side and look up at the front eaves to see how the brackets and beams stack up under the roof edge. The small Bunkogura stands just to the east, and with its own ink-dated 1863 origin the pair give a sense of how the Ishikawa household looked in the late Edo period.
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Q&A
- When was the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate built?
- The national database dates it to the late Edo period (1830 to 1867). The brewery says it is thought to be about 250 years old.
- Is the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate older than the brewery?
- Yes. The family started brewing in Kumagawa in 1880, and the gate is an Edo-period building.
- Who is the Ishikawa Yahachirō named on the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate?
- It is the hereditary name of the head of the Ishikawa family. The current company president holds it as the eighteenth head.
- What are the architectural features of the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate?
- A single-storey hip-and-gable gatehouse roofed in copper, with a central passage and a room on each side, posts on foundation stones, exposed-post walls, bracketed eaves on the front only and sasu roof framing.
- Can visitors see the Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate?
- Yes, from outside, on the free self-guided walk. There is no notice about going through the gate, so view it from the front.
Basic Information
| Name | Ishikawa Sake Brewery Nagayamon Gate (石川酒造長屋門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-1 Aza-Minami, Oaza Kumagawa, Fussa City, Tokyo |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 13-0169 |
| Year Designated | Registered February 17, 2004 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, copper roof, building area 89 square meters |
| Owner | Ishikawa Brewery Co., Ltd. (石川酒造株式会社) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible on the self-guided walk |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Ishikawa Shuzo Nagayamon
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003850
- Cultural Heritage Online: Ishikawa Shuzo Nagayamon
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/188580
- Fussa City Local History Museum: Ishikawa Shuzo Nagayamon (Japanese)
- https://www.museum.fussa.tokyo.jp/archives/fc_cultural/532
- Ishikawa Brewery: Brewery Walk and Tours (Japanese)
- https://www.tamajiman.co.jp/tour/
- Ishikawa Brewery: About Ishikawa Brewery (Japanese)
- https://www.tamajiman.co.jp/about/
Last verified: 2026.09.29
