Nishino Family Residence Wall

The Street Front of the Nishino Compound

The Nishino Family Residence Wall (西野家住宅塀, Nishino-ke Jūtaku Hei) is a roofed timber wall built in 1937 and extended in the early Showa era in Sadatomo-cho, Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 June 2017. It is tiled and runs 33 metres, registered as number 18-0182.

The wall marks the north edge of the compound along the street. Of the six registered buildings, it is the only one that can be seen from outside on an ordinary day.

Shaping the Streetscape

The Nishino wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape; the Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it shapes the character of the street.

It dates from 1937, the same year as the annex. As the family finished its reception rooms, it also gave the compound a finished face toward the street.

Two Kinds of Stone Base

The Nishino Family Residence Wall stands on a stone base that changes halfway along. The eastern half is squared ashlar of Shakudani stone, the green-grey tuff quarried in Fukui; the western half is Kikkōzumi, stones cut into hexagons and fitted together like a tortoise shell. Walk the length of the wall and you can see the change underfoot.

Above, bracket-like arms project from the posts to carry an outrigger beam, the degeta method, supporting a pantiled roof with deep eaves.

The posts are left exposed in Shinkabe walls. On the outside, the lower part is clad in overlapping boards held by notched battens, a form of Shitami-itabari, with coloured clay plaster above. Where the wall borders the garden it is pierced by openings in the stepped-diamond matsukawabishi shape, giving a glimpse of the green behind.

Seeing the Wall

The Nishino Family Residence Wall can be viewed from the street on the north side of the compound. Walk from the east end to the west to see the base change from ashlar to hexagonal stonework and to find the diamond-shaped openings by the garden.

The property behind the wall is a private home. Please do not look through the openings or touch the wall, and watch for traffic on the street.