Main Gate And Main Building

The main gate that is also called “Yakuimon” was built in 1696.
It is believed that there are two reasons for calling the main gate as “Yakuimon”.

【There are two understandings】
①　In Japanese, “Yaku” means a “medicine”, “I” means a “doctor”, and “mon”　means a “gate”.
The gate has a small entrance door next to the main gate.
It is because even when the main gate is closed, doctor can come and go in the emergency.

②　In Japanese, “Ya” means an “arrow”, “kui” means “to eat”, and “mon” means a “gate”.
The entrance of the main house and the main gate is not made straight, when looking at the Egawa House from the front.
It is because that was made by changing the angle on purpose to prevent the residence from being hit by a bow and arrow from the outside.
(It is an abstract expression that the gate eats the arrow that is aiming the inside of the house.)

The main building of the Egawa House was built in around 1600.Some parts of the main building are older than 1600 and it makes the architecture historically important.