The Front Gate of a Headman's House
The Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (岡本家住宅長屋門) is a nagayamon gatehouse of the late Edo period in Kuju, Koyaguchi-cho, Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 6, 2024 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber gatehouse with a tiled roof and a building area of 70 square metres; registration number 30-0353.
A Gatehouse on the South Edge of the Property
The Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate opens on the south edge of the property (Agency for Cultural Affairs). A nagayamon is a long, single-storey gatehouse with rooms on either side of the entrance; here the west end has a gabled roof and the east end steps down to a lower hip-and-gable roof, both covered with pantiles. Wakayama Prefecture describes it as the late Edo-period gate at the entrance to the property.
The walls are plastered above a skirting of vertical boards held by battens (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The passage, set a little east of centre, has a high ceiling; to its west is a barn, and to its east three rooms that served as a cowshed and storerooms.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered the gate for its contribution to the historic landscape, noting that its broad frontage gives the old family's house a proper public face.
What to Look For
The long roofline, stepping from gable to hip-and-gable, is the feature to look for at the Okamoto nagayamon (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Notice the white plaster over the dark boarded skirting, and the higher ceiling over the passage alone.
With a barn and a cowshed built into it, the gate shows how farm work and the formal front of a headman's house shared one building.
Visiting
The Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate is the entrance to a private home, and no official information on visits was found. Please do not enter the property. The Agency's database carries photographs of the gate from the front and looking back through the passage.
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Q&A
- When was the Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate built?
- In the late Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Where is the Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- At 548 Kuju, Koyaguchi-cho, Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture, on the south edge of the property.
- What is inside the Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- A high-ceilinged passage just east of centre, with a barn to the west and three rooms used as a cowshed and storerooms to the east (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can I visit the Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate?
- It is the entrance to a private home, and no official information on visits was found.
- When was the Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate registered?
- On March 6, 2024 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (岡本家住宅長屋門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 548 Kuju, Koyaguchi-cho, Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2024/03/06 (Reiwa 6) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof, 70 m² |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | Private residence (no public access information) |
References
- Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014918
- Okamoto Family Residence Nagayamon Gate (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/553958
- Okamoto Family Residence (Wakayama Prefectural Board of Education, Japanese)
- https://wakayama-bunkazai.jp/bunkazai/bunkazai-spot-1032/
Last verified: 2026.10.15
