Tradition | Miyukimon Gate of Katsura Imperial Villa: Achieving the Highest Quality with the Most Affordable Materials

A gate for the highest-ranking individuals, yet built with the most humble materials: columns are raw logs with bark preserved, the roof is thick thatched straw, the walls are earth, and even the supporting details are deliberately left unadorned. The gate is not large in scale; one must slightly bow to pass through. This value judgment of "expressing highest respect through simplicity" is at the core of Sukiya aesthetics, completely contrary to the Western logic of expressing nobility through grandeur. In front of the gate is a scattered path of stepping stones (sanzero-shiki tobiishi), with stones of varying sizes and deliberately uneven spacing, forcing people to slow down and look at their path. The surroundings are trimmed hedges and moss ground. Shot under soft, diffused light. Avoid: using processed, square timber, changing the roof to tiles, enlarging the gate, neatly arranging the stepping stones.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一座供最高身份者通行的門,卻用最樸素的材料建成:柱為保留樹皮的原木,屋頂為厚實的茅草葺,牆為土壁,連支撐的細節都刻意不做修飾。門的尺度不大,人必須略微低頭通過。這種「以簡樸表達最高敬意」的價值判斷,是數寄屋美學的核心,與西方以華麗表達尊貴的邏輯完全相反。門前為霰零式的飛石路徑,石塊大小不一、間距刻意不均,強迫人放慢腳步並低頭看路。周圍為修剪的樹籬與苔地。柔和的散射光下拍攝。避免:使用加工過的方正木料、屋頂改為瓦、門加大、飛石排列整齊。