Japanese Gateway Chokushi-Mon or Gate of the Imperial Messenger is a Grade II listed building in the Richmond upon Thames local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 January 1950. Gateway.

Japanese Gateway Chokushi-Mon or Gate of the Imperial Messenger

WRENN ID
quiet-terrace-pigeon
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Richmond upon Thames
Constituency
Richmond Park MP: Sarah Olney (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
10 January 1950
Type
Gateway
Address
Japanese Gateway Chokushi-Mon or Gate of the Imperial Messenger, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Kew Green, TW9 3AB
OS grid reference
TQ 183 761
Coordinates
51.47187, -0.29746
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Japanese Gateway Chokushi-Mon, also known as the Gate of the Imperial Messenger, is a Grade II listed structure located in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. This gateway is a replica of a famous Japanese design, created for an exhibition in London in 1910 and later presented to the Gardens.

The structure features six piers arranged in a rectangular formation, with gates hung within the central pair. It is constructed from timber and topped with a traditional copper roof, which replaced the original cedar bark roof during restoration work in 1995. The gateway is gabled on all four sides and showcases rich carvings within the gables, as well as on the screens and corbels below.

Local climate

Japanese Gateway Chokushi-Mon or Gate of the Imperial Messenger sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 90% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 64% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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