About the Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate
The Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate (矢田貝家住宅中門, Yatagai-ke Jūtaku Chūmon) is a small bracket-armed gate of the early Shōwa period in the garden of the Yatagai Family Residence in Kamihosomi, Hōki Town, Tottori Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.
The Middle Gate opens in the wall that runs from the front of the Annex toward the Kanpū-an tea house, on the line between the main garden and the Roji, the tea garden. Tottori Prefecture places it facing the Koshikake Machiai waiting bench. It is a one-bay Udekimon, a gate whose roof sits on arms projecting from the posts, with an opening 1.2 m wide and a gabled roof of copper.
Fujiki Tatsuya's paper adds that rear support posts stand behind the main posts, and that the arms rest on a beam spanning the main posts. The roof is entered from the long side, and the doors are a pair of Sankarado panel doors filled with wickerwork.
Why the Yatagai Middle Gate was registered
The Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to its sukiya touches: a gentle upward swell in the roof, rafters of round timber and wickerwork on the doors. The result, in the agency's words, is a calm composition well suited to the entrance of a tea garden.
The national database dates the gate to the early Shōwa period. The diary of the fourth head of the family tells more. On November 5, 1937, he recorded bringing in a roji gate identified by the name 武信, and Fujiki reads this as the gate being moved here from elsewhere. In March 1938 work began on a bamboo fence beside it; the roof of the gate was finished on June 8, 1939, and the carpenter Iwata hung the doors on August 11. The diary does not make clear whether that name refers to a person, a household or a place.
The Kanpū-an tea house was also bought from another family and rebuilt here, so two of the main features of this tea garden came from somewhere else.
What to look for in the Yatagai Middle Gate
Start with the roof. Rather than running straight down, it swells very slightly upward, a curve known as mukuri, and that is why so small a roof does not look stiff. According to Fujiki, it was probably first covered in cedar bark and later re-clad in copper.
The rafters are left round, and the doors are filled with woven wickerwork. Fujiki notes that the original paneled double doors survive.
At 1.2 m, the opening admits one person at a time. A guest coming from the main garden steps through here into the tea garden and waits on the bench just beyond. This one-bay gate marks the change from the formal garden to the world of tea.
Visiting the Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate
The Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate is privately owned and is not regularly open. It stands deep in the grounds in front of the Annex and cannot be seen from National Route 181. We found no notice that visitors can reach it even on days when the house is open, and no photography policy is published. Directions and visiting conditions for the estate are on the Yatagai Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Where is the Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate?
- It opens in the wall running from the front of the Annex toward the Kanpū-an tea house, between the main garden and the tea garden. The Koshikake Machiai waiting bench stands just beyond it.
- When was the Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate built?
- The national database gives the early Shōwa period. The fourth head's diary records the gate being brought in in November 1937, its roof finished in June 1939 and its doors hung in August 1939.
- What kind of gate is the Yatagai Middle Gate?
- A one-bay bracket-armed gate with an opening 1.2 m wide and a gabled copper roof. The roof has a gentle upward curve, the rafters are round timbers, and the double doors are filled with wickerwork. The roof was probably first covered in cedar bark.
- Why is the Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on July 25, 2011, for its contribution to the historic landscape. Its sukiya-style design is credited with giving the entrance to the tea garden a calm character.
- Can I visit the Yatagai Middle Gate?
- It is privately owned, not regularly open and cannot be seen from the road. We found no notice that visitors can reach it. Ask the Hōki Town Board of Education lifelong learning office before visiting.
Basic Information
| Name | Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 486 Kamihosomi and other lots, Hōki Town, Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered July 25, 2011 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Opening 1.2 m wide |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the national database) |
| Public Access | Not regularly open; cannot be seen from the road |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008761
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yatagai Family Residence Middle Gate
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/213802
- Tottori Bunkazai Navi (Tottori Prefecture Cultural Properties Division): Yatagai Family Residence
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/117213810028FEE749257C5A00296E73
- Fujiki Tatsuya, "The Yatagai Family Residence as Revealed Through Kaso Diagrams and Diaries," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55741
- Tanaka Hiroo, "A Modern Village Landlord's Garden-Making Record," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55742
Last verified: 2026.10.07
