Kuroda Fief Feudal Storehouse Front Gate Remains

The Former Kuroda Domain Kurayashiki Nagaya Gate is a valuable surviving structure that preserves the legacy of a storehouse residence from the mid-Edo period. Designated a Tangible Cultural Property of Osaka Prefecture, this gate originally served as the main entrance of the former Kurayashiki (storehouse residence) of the Kuroda Domain (Fukuoka Domain), which is believed to have stood near the present-day Nakanoshima Mitsui Building. In the past, Osaka flourished as Japan’s center of commerce, distribution, and finance, earning the nickname “the nation’s kitchen.” Because waterways such as the Dojima River, Tosabori River, and Edobori River around Nakanoshima were well suited for water transport, many feudal domains built kurayashiki residences along these rivers—serving both as warehouses and trading bases. As the number of kurayashiki increased, it is said that by the time the abolition of the domains and establishment of prefectures took place, as many as 135 such residences lined the area. However, when the Nakanoshima Mitsui Building was scheduled to be constructed in 1933, the gate was donated by Mitsui & Co. to the City of Osaka. Today, the gate can be seen inside Tennoji Park, about a 5-minute walk from Tennoji Station on various lines, located near the south side of the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts.