About the Endo Family Residence Front Gate
The Endo Family Residence Front Gate (遠藤家住宅表門, Endō-ke Jūtaku Omotemon) is a timber estate gate built in 1860 at 486 Bōryō, Daisen Town, Tottori Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 18, 2003.
The gate stands roughly halfway along the east side of the estate, in line with the main house at the center of the plot. It has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) of pantiles (Sangawara-buki). The detached room, built the same year, stands immediately to its north.
Dated by a Tablet in the Roof
The Endo Family Residence Front Gate can be dated precisely because a Munafuda survives inside its roof framing. A munafuda is a board nailed up at the raising of the ridge, recording the date and the people involved, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs cites it as the basis for the date.
Another tablet shows that the detached room next door went up at the same time. In 1860, in the last years of the shogunate, the Endo family rebuilt its street front in a single campaign: the formal gate and the annex beside it.
Four Posts, a Wicket Door and a Board Wall
The Endo Family Residence Front Gate stands on four posts set in a single row directly under the ridge. The two central posts frame the main opening, and the bays on either side are made up of a Kugurido, a small wicket door that lets people pass without opening the main doors, and board walling. The two end posts are braced front and back by Hikaebashira support posts.
The Agency notes that this type of gate is common in the region, but that the Endo Family Residence Front Gate is built on a scale befitting an old established family.
The sources disagree on its width. The structure field of the Agency's database gives a frontage of 3.6 m, while the description in the same database gives 3.9 m.
Why the Front Gate Was Registered
The Endo Family Residence Front Gate was registered as a contributor to the historic landscape. It follows a familiar local pattern, yet its size suits the front of a large estate, and it largely decides how the whole property looks from the road.
Seeing the Endo Family Residence Front Gate
The Endo Family Residence Front Gate faces the road on the east, so its exterior can be seen from the street. It is the gate of a private home, and you cannot go through it. Standing square in front of it, you can read the row of four posts and the wicket doors and boarding in the side bays; step slightly to one side to see the bracing posts. Taken together with the latticed windows of the detached room to the north, it shows the street front the family laid out in 1860.
No official guidance on photography could be found as of September 2026. Even if the gate is open, do not photograph the grounds beyond it, and keep clear of residents coming and going.
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Q&A
- When was the Endo Family Residence Front Gate built?
- In 1860. The date comes from a ridge tablet (munafuda) preserved inside the gate's roof.
- What kind of gate is the Endo Family Residence Front Gate?
- A timber gate with a gabled pantile roof. Four posts stand in a row under the ridge; the center bay is the main opening, and the side bays combine wicket doors and board walling, with bracing posts at each end.
- How wide is the Endo Family Residence Front Gate?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives 3.6 m in its structure field and 3.9 m in its description, so the sources do not agree.
- Is the Endo Family Residence Front Gate connected to the detached room?
- Yes. The detached room stands just north of the gate, and its own ridge tablet shows it was built at the same time, in 1860.
- Can visitors see the Endo Family Residence Front Gate?
- Its exterior is visible from the road on the east, but it belongs to a private home and you cannot pass through it.
Basic Information
| Name | Endo Family Residence Front Gate (遠藤家住宅表門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 486 Bōryō, Daisen Town, Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2003 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 3.6 m (ACA database structure field; its description gives 3.9 m) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior visible from the road on the east) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): 遠藤家住宅表門
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003302
- Cultural Heritage Online: 遠藤家住宅表門
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/168612
- Daisen Town: Endo Family Residence (main house and four other structures)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/1/s148/u165/
- Daisen Town: Endo Family Residence (town-designated cultural properties)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/1/w930/u165/
Last verified: 2026.09.30
