The Watanabes Nagaya  Gate

 On the 27th of March 2018, the “Watanabe Rokurobei’s nagaya-gate” of Kurosawa region was registered as the nationally designated Tangible Cultural Property.
  This was commemorated, as it was the first property in Iide town to be registered as such by the nation.
  During the middle ages, the Watanabes was the vassal of the Dates, but when the Uesugis reigned over Okitama, they returned to agriculture and became wealthy farmers.
  The first generation was “Tosa”.  From the fifth generation, they called themselves “Rokurobei” and for generations, had large-scale farming as their base of business.  In addition, with the brewery and financial management added to the mix, the family’s business was doing well even during the modern ages, and it was the 42nd year into the Meiji period when this enormous nagaya-gate was constructed.
  The building called the nagaya-gate is an example of the Edo-period style architecture, but this nagaya-gate, in particular, has aspects such as bricks lined across the bottom half, which is an example of modern techniques and material, and hence is considered as a rare cultural property.  Moreover, from the fact that its appearance has not changed as when it was originally built, apart from the roof covered with tin, its historical value was recognized and resulted in the registration as a Tangible Cultural Property of the nation.