Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Chiba

Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall

Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall: Flemish Bond, c. 1892

A brick wall of about 1892 linking two storehouses on a Noda soy brewer's estate: Flemish bond, over 4.2 metres high, with buttresses and a tiled cornice. Not open.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Chiba

A Brick Wall That Ties the Storehouses Together

The Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall (茂木七郎右衛門家住宅煉瓦塀) in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, is a brick boundary wall built around 1892 to enclose the northwest of a soy sauce brewing family's estate, and it was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 March 2018. It runs 19 metres in total and stands more than 4.2 metres high.

It has two parts. A west section joins the Shingura and Okubunko storehouses at a right angle, and a north section runs east from the Okubunko to mark the northern edge of the property. Storehouse walls and brick wall follow one another without a break, sealing the northwest corner of the house.

Of the 18 registered structures, this is the only one counted as a 'structure' rather than a 'building', because it is classed as a work of engineering rather than architecture. When Chiba Prefecture describes the estate as 17 buildings and one structure, the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall is the one.

Flemish Bond and Buttresses

The brick is laid in what Japanese builders call furansu-zumi, 'French bond', known in English as Flemish bond: each course alternates stretchers (the long face) and headers (the short end), so the wall shows a steady rhythm of long and short rectangles.

Buttresses at key points keep the tall wall from leaning. The top steps out in a corbelled cornice capped with Sangawara-buki Japanese pantiles, a brick wall wearing a tiled roof in the typical Meiji blend of Western and Japanese.

On the Shingura side, an arched opening in the brickwork gives access; this is the entrance included in the registration.

The Estate in 1892

The Okubunko storehouse is said to have been moved here from the Takanashi Shūzō household in 1892. No source consulted says that the move and the construction of the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall were one project, but with the wall running west and east from the Okubunko, the two clearly settled the shape of the northwest corner at the same time.

The estate has one more high wall, the 4.4-metre earthen wall around the north and east of the shoin. Chiba Prefecture presents the two together as walls over 4 metres built against theft and fire. The registration number is 12-263, and the wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

Visiting

The wall encloses a private home and cannot be visited from inside the property. Because the north section runs along the property's northern edge, if any part is visible from outside it would be the outer face of that section, but which streets give a view has not been confirmed.

Please avoid photographing over the wall into the house. Kotohira Shrine next door opens on the 10th of every month, but the wall is not part of that visit. Directions are on the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence page.

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Q&A

QCan I see the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall?: AYou cannot enter the property. The north section runs along the northern boundary, so if it is visible from outside, it is that outer face.

QWhen was the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall built?: AAround 1892, the same year the Okubunko storehouse is said to have been moved onto the estate.

QWhat bond is used in the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall?: AFlemish bond, called 'French bond' in Japan, with stretchers and headers alternating in every course. Buttresses stand at key points and the top is a corbelled cornice capped with tiles.

QHow big is the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall?: AIt is 19 metres long in total and over 4.2 metres high, with an arched entrance on the Shingura side.

QWhere on the estate is the Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall?: AIn the northwest: a west section joining the Shingura and Okubunko storehouses, and a north section running east along the northern boundary.

Basic Information

Name	Mogi Shichiroemon Family Residence Brick Wall (茂木七郎右衛門家住宅煉瓦塀)
Location	340-1 Aza Higashinakamachi and others, Noda, Noda City, Chiba Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 12-263, criterion: contributing to the historic landscape
Year Designated	Registered 2018/3/27 (Heisei 30)
Quantity	1 structure
Dimensions	Brick, 19 metres in total length, with entrance, over 4.2 metres high
Owner	Private owner
Public Access	Not open to the public (private residence; grounds closed)