Kiwata Family Residence Gate and Wall

What Is the Kiwata Family Residence Gate and Wall?

The Kiwata Family Residence Gate and Wall (木綿家住宅門及び塀, Kiwata-ke Jūtaku Mon oyobi Hei) is the street front of the Kiwata estate in Horidomehigashi, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture; built around 1940, it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 21 June 2013. The timber gate is 3.8 meters wide under a tiled roof, and the tile-capped brick wall runs 21 meters in total.

The Kiwata Family Residence Gate and Wall faces the road on the south side of the lot, with the gate set directly in front of the main house entrance. From there the wall extends to either side, turning corners as it encloses the frontage. Of the four registered structures on the estate, this is the one you can take in properly from the street.

A One-Bay Yakuimon with Side Gates

The gate is a one-bay Yakuimon with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of pantiles. In this type, a single broad gable roof sits over the main posts and a second pair of rear posts, and it has long been a favored form for the front gate of a substantial house.

On each side is a smaller side gate with its roof dropped a step below the center, an arrangement called Ochimune. Keeping the middle high and the wings low makes a gate only 3.8 meters across look broader and more settled than its size.

A Wall That Curves In

The wall of the Kiwata Family Residence Gate and Wall is brick at its core. Its base is faced with granite, the upper wall is finished in mortar using Kakiotoshi, a plasterer's technique of scratching the surface before it fully sets to leave a coarse texture, and the top is capped with pantiles.

The best thing about it is the way it bends. Instead of running straight up to the gate, the wall sweeps into it on both sides in a shallow arc. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the curve gives the frontage a gentle character and helps create a handsome residential streetscape.

The gate and wall are Registration No. 30-0174, listed for their contribution to the historic landscape.

Visiting

The Kiwata Family Residence Gate and Wall fronts a private home, so the gate itself cannot be passed. Because it stands on the road, though, the exterior can be viewed from the public street.

For the best view, stand a little off to one side of the gate rather than square in front. From there you can take in both the arc of the wall as it curves into the gate and the step in roof height between the center gate and its side gates. Walk along the wall to see the granite base and the scratched mortar surface up close. This is a residential street, so please do not linger at the gate or block the residents' way in and out.