About the Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
The Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (矢田貝家住宅長屋門, Yatagai-ke Jūtaku Nagayamon) is a gatehouse of the mid-Meiji period at the front of the Yatagai Family Residence in Kamihosomi, Hōki Town, Tottori Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.
A Nagayamon is a long building with a gateway through the middle and rooms on either side. This one stands on National Route 181, directly in front of the entrance of the Main House. It is a single-story timber building of 7.9 m by 3.0 m, with a building area of 24 square meters and a gabled roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles. The gateway in the center is 2.4 m wide, with a small wicket door on the north side. The north room is open in front and fitted with a bench; the south room is a two-mat Japanese room with an alcove.
Fujiki Tatsuya's paper adds that the main doors are a pair of plank doors, that the small room has a narrow wooden board laid beside its mats, and that it is divided from the passage by sliding Sankarado panel doors above a low entrance step, a Shikidai. The roof was once laid with red-brown Sekishū tiles and topped with stones along the ridge, like that of the Main House.
Why the Yatagai Nagayamon Gate was registered
The Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it for giving the estate a dignified front, and Tottori Prefecture describes it in the same terms.
It has not always stood here. The national database dates it to the mid-Meiji period and records that it was moved in the early Shōwa period and repaired in 1994; Tottori Prefecture adds that the move was within the estate.
Fujiki reconstructs the story from the diary of the fourth head of the family and from old photographs. The gate first stood to the right front of the Main House, at right angles to the road. In the brewing days it was the way in for work, and later it led to the back garden. In January 1940 the fourth head began what he called the rebuilding of the front gate, turning it into the main entrance, with the carpenters Iwata, Sugita and Matsuda and the stonemason Ihara among those at work. Ceiling boards were being planed in February 1941, and the gate was probably finished that year. The family says the gate itself was built in the fourth decade of the Meiji era, around 1897 to 1906.
Photographs from the late Meiji and Taishō eras show the Main House facing the road directly, with no gate in front. The view from the street today, the Main House seen through the gatehouse, dates only from 1940 or later. Where the gate used to stand, a room the family called the new study was added onto the earth-floored end of the Main House.
What to look for in the Yatagai Nagayamon Gate
Of the eight registered buildings, the Yatagai Nagayamon Gate is the one you can see clearly from the road. Stand in front of it and you can tell the two sides apart. To the right, on the north, is the open bench room with its wicket door; to the left, on the south, is the closed two-mat room.
The Western Tottori Earthquake of 2000 damaged the gate's posts. The national database also records repairs in 1994.
Visiting the Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
The Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate is privately owned, and its interior is not open. The exterior can be seen from National Route 181. The road carries steady traffic, so avoid stopping a car on the shoulder to look. No photography policy is published. Days when the house can be entered, and directions, are on the Yatagai Family Residence page.
Q&A
- When was the Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate built?
- The national database gives the mid-Meiji period, with a move within the estate in the early Shōwa period and repairs in 1994. The family dates it to around 1897 to 1906.
- Why was the Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate moved?
- The fourth head of the family wanted it as the main front gate. It had stood at right angles to the road as a working entrance and later a gate to the back garden; between 1940 and 1941 it was moved to its present place and rebuilt.
- What is inside the Yatagai Nagayamon Gate?
- A gateway 2.4 m wide runs through the middle. The north room is an open bench room with a wicket door, and the south room is a two-mat Japanese room with an alcove.
- Why is the Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on July 25, 2011, for its contribution to the historic landscape. It is valued for giving the estate a dignified front.
- Can I visit the Yatagai Nagayamon Gate?
- The interior is not open, but the exterior can be seen from National Route 181. For entry to the estate, ask the Hōki Town Board of Education lifelong learning office in advance.
Basic Information
| Name | Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon 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 | 7.9 m × 3.0 m in plan; building area 24 m²; gateway 2.4 m wide |
| Owner | Private (no owner named in the national database) |
| Public Access | Interior not open; exterior visible from National Route 181 |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00008759
- Cultural Heritage Online: Yatagai Family Residence Nagayamon Gate
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/233220
- 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
- Nikaido Yukinobu et al., "History of the Yatagai Family," Studies of San'in Region Extra Issue 2 (Shimane University, 2026)
- https://ir.lib.shimane-u.ac.jp/55736
Last verified: 2026.10.07
