About the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House (東門脇家住宅門長屋, Higashi-Kadowaki-ke Jūtaku Mon-nagaya) is a two-story gatehouse built in the Taisho period (1912 to 1925) in Tokorogo, Daisen Town, Tottori Prefecture, and was entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 8, 2004. It is a timber building under a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pan tiles, with a building area of 47 square meters.
The gate row house stands at the center of the estate's south side, facing the road, and is the formal way in. The front gate opens at its west end and a reception room fills the east end. It follows the familiar Nagayamon idea of a gate set into a long building, but with a room for receiving visitors rather than servants' quarters or storage.
A Three-Meter Front Gate
The gate of the Higashikadowaki Gate Row House is 3 meters wide. It is framed by posts of rectangular section and closed by board doors that swing inward. Above the lintel beam, the Kabuki, sits a Ranma transom panel.
Inward-opening doors fold back inside the gateway instead of swinging into the road. The transom is placed where a visitor looking up at the gate will see it, and it lightens the top of the opening. Daisen Town's walking map notes that Tokorogo houses are entered through gate types that include simple lintel gates, formal front gates and a local form that combines a gate with a barn or outbuilding, and this gatehouse belongs to that family.
A Reception Room With Its Own Porch
East of the gate is the reception room, with a small gabled entrance porch of its own at the far east end. The walls show their posts and are clad outside in Shitami-itabari clapboard. Because the room can be reached without passing through the gate, it was evidently meant for visitors and outside business.
Daisen Town says the Higashikadowaki family went into sake brewing and money lending, and that the estate keeps a room once used as a bank's local branch office; the town's walking map places it inside the gatehouse. Putting a business room on the street front let the family deal with customers without bringing them into the private house behind.
Why the Gate Row House Was Registered
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its layout suits an imposing estate.
Seen from the south road, the Higashikadowaki frontage is made up of the storehouse at the southwest corner, this gatehouse in the middle and the barn at the southeast corner. At two stories, the gate row house is the tallest of the three and anchors the middle of that face.
Seeing the Higashikadowaki Gate Row House
Because it faces the south road, the Higashikadowaki Gate Row House is one of the easiest of the nine structures to see. From across the road, the west gate, the east porch and the clapboard wall between them fit into a single view. The transom over the gate is clearest when you stand directly in front and look up.
The estate is a private home that is not open to the public, so you cannot walk through the gate, and the reception room is closed. No official guidance on photography could be found as of September 2026; keep the view through the gate and any residents out of your pictures.
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Q&A
- When was the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House built?
- It dates from the Taisho period (1912 to 1925).
- What does the Higashikadowaki Gate Row House look like?
- It is a two-story timber building with a gabled tiled roof, a 3-meter front gate at the west end and a reception room with its own gabled porch at the east end. Its building area is 47 square meters.
- Was there a bank in the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House?
- Daisen Town's walking map says the family ran sake brewing and money lending, and that the remains of a bank branch office survive inside the gatehouse.
- When did the Higashikadowaki Gate Row House become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- On November 8, 2004, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- Can I go inside the Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House?
- No. It is part of a private home that is not open to the public; you can see the exterior from the south road.
Basic Information
| Name | Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House (東門脇家住宅門長屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 425 Tokorogo, Daisen-cho, Saihaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2004 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 47 m²; front gate 3 m wide (timber, 2 stories) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | Not open (exterior visible from the south road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004403
- Cultural Heritage Online: Higashikadowaki Family Residence Gate Row House
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/184313
- Daisen Town: Higashikadowaki Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/1/s148/p136/
- Daisen Town: Tokorogo walking map (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/user/filer_public/ba/c4/bac418d0-931e-4930-b696-b2f5b865b94f/denken-tiku-panfu.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.29
