Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Service Gate

What the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Service Gate Is

The Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Service Gate (立川吉村家住宅通用門, Tachikawa Yoshimura-ke Jūtaku Tsūyōmon) is a mid-Meiji roofed wall with a gateway in Tachikawa-cho, Tottori City, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 23, 1998.

A wall topped with its own small roof runs for 7.4 meters, and a single opening is cut in the middle. The Agency for Cultural Affairs classes it not as a building but as another kind of structure.

Besides its mid-Meiji date, the record notes a move in 1936. Like the main house, the gate appears to have been shifted by Hikiya when a road was widened.

The Service Gate's Role in the Compound

The Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Service Gate stands north of the utensil storehouse, and its roofed wall closes the gap between that storehouse and the kitchen storehouse. It was the everyday way in and out, separate from the formal entrance of the main house.

Registration rests on the building's contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency describes the gate as one of the elements that make up the layout of the residence. Without it, the north edge of the compound would break open between the two storehouses.

What to Look For: A Widened Opening

The opening is now 1.5 ken, about 2.7 meters, wide. It was originally 1 ken, about 1.8 meters, and was widened in recent years so that cars could pass.

Rather than being frozen as a Meiji relic, the gate has been adjusted to current use. Japan's registration system is meant for buildings that stay in use, and this is a clear example.

On either side of the opening the walls are built in the Shinkabe manner, with posts left visible, and wooden wainscoting runs along the base. There is no ornament: just white wall, boards and the lines of the posts.

Seeing the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Service Gate

With no interior to speak of, the Tachikawa Yoshimura Family Residence Service Gate can be seen in full from the road. The opening is still used by cars, so do not stand or park in front of it.

A view from a slight angle shows the length of the roofed wall and the exposed posts best. Please do not step through the gate.