Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Toyama

Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate (Heichumon)

Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate: A Stone Garden Gate

A mid-Meiji stone gate in Toyama: a stone post-and-lintel opening with a wooden door, in a wall of natural and cut stone dividing the gardens; registered in 1998.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Toyama

About the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate

The Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate (旧内山家住宅塀中門, Kyū-Uchiyama-ke Jūtaku Heichūmon) is a stone gate and wall built in the mid-Meiji era at 903 Miyao, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 1998.

The Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate stands west of the main house, set into a wall that bends at a corner and joins the guest lavatory. Together, the gate and wall separate the garden in front of the reception rooms from the forecourt.

An Unusual Stone Opening

The Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate was registered as a structure that would be hard to reproduce. What caught the Agency for Cultural Affairs' attention is the form of its opening.

A simple doorway made of stone posts topped with a stone lintel holds a wooden wicket door. On an estate otherwise full of timber gates, posts and lintel of stone stand out, and the Agency calls the design unusual.

A Wall Built in Two Kinds of Stone

The wall of the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate is built of natural stones up to about waist height, with dressed stone above. Rough, irregular stone below and neat cut blocks above give it a two-part character.

Guests going from the forecourt into the reception garden passed through this opening, and its link to the guest lavatory suggests it was designed as part of the route by which visitors were received.

Seeing the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate

At the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate, look closely at how the stone posts and lintel fit together and how the wooden door is set into them. Note the height at which natural stone gives way to cut stone in the wall.

Opening days and admission are on the Former Uchiyama Family Residence (Toyama) page. No official guidance on photography could be found as of September 2026, so ask at the reception.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Toyama: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate (Heichumon); [ Kurobe Gorge Train & Tateyama Alpine Route ]

Q&A

QWhen was the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate built?: AThe Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the mid-Meiji era.

QWhat kind of gate is the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate?: AA stone gate: a simple opening of stone posts and a stone lintel with a wooden door, set in a wall that turns a corner.

QWhy is the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?: AIt was registered in 1998 as hard to reproduce, for its unusual design of a stone opening fitted with a wooden door.

QHow is the wall of the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate built?: ANatural stones up to waist height, with cut stone above.

QWhere is the Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate?: AWest of the main house, in a wall joined to the guest lavatory, dividing the reception garden from the forecourt.

Basic Information

Name	Former Uchiyama Family Residence Middle Gate (旧内山家住宅塀中門)
Location	903 Miyao, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	1998 (registered)
Quantity	1 structure
Dimensions	Stone, with attached wall
Owner	Toyama Prefecture
Public Access	Open (admission charged, as Gōnō no Yakata Uchiyama-tei)