Kada Family Residence Front Gate

What Is the Kada Family Residence Front Gate?

The Kada Family Residence Front Gate (加田家住宅表門, Kada-ke Jūtaku Omotemon) is the main entrance gate of an early Showa-period residence in Yabu-no-cho, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2007.

The Kada Family Residence Front Gate stands near the middle of the west side of the lot. The central gate is a Munamon, flanked on each side by a small Kugurido wicket door. It is built of wood under a Sangawara-buki tile roof, and its opening is 2.2 meters wide.

Why the Kada Family Residence Front Gate Was Registered

The Kada Family Residence Front Gate was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for its contribution to the historic landscape, under registration number 30-0110.

This is the public face of the house. Together with the wall that runs out from it, the gate is what the street sees of the Kada Family Residence. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the quality of its timber and the calm appearance created by its gently curved roofs.

What to Look for at the Kada Family Residence Front Gate

The roofs are Kirizuma-zukuri gables set at different heights: the central roof over the main gate rides higher, with lower roofs over the side doors on either side. Each roof swells slightly upward in a gentle convex curve, the mukuri that gives Japanese roofs a soft profile.

Fine hinoki cypress and keyaki zelkova were used for the posts, the Nageshi tie beams at door-head height and the doors. Between the nageshi and the Kabuki crossbeam is an Osa-ranma, a transom of closely set thin vertical slats that lightens the top of the gate.

From each side door, a section of wall turns away at a right angle, so gate and wall were designed as a single composition. Standing in front of the Kada Family Residence Front Gate, you can see the contrast between the warm timber of the gate and the stone facing of the wall.

Visiting the Kada Family Residence Front Gate

The Kada Family Residence Front Gate is the entrance to a private home, and the grounds beyond it are not open to the public. Because it faces the street on the west side, the gate can be seen from the road. If you stop to look, please keep clear of the entrance and the traffic. Directions are on the page for the Kada Family Residence.