Yasumoto Sake Brewery South Wall

A 12-Meter Wall on Shakudani Stone

The Yasumoto Sake Brewery South Wall (安本酒造南塀, Yasumoto Shuzō Minamibei) is a wooden boundary wall of the early Showa period at Yasumoto Sake Brewery in Yasuhara-cho, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 26, 2015. It is capped with tiles and runs about 12 meters.

It stands on the south edge of the lot, continuing west from the bottling factory, and marks the back boundary of the brewery. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as an earthen wall.

Boards, Clay and Open Air

According to the Agency, the Yasumoto Sake Brewery South Wall rests on a timber sill laid over a foundation of Shakudani stone, the blue-grey volcanic tuff quarried around Mt. Asuwa in Fukui City and used widely for foundations and retaining walls in the old province of Echizen.

The face of the wall is divided into three bands. The lowest is clad in sasarako clapboarding, the middle is clay wall, and the top is left open. Because the upper band is open, light and air pass beneath the tiled coping, and a heavy clay wall looks surprisingly light.

Toward the east end is a sliding board door; toward the west, two windows with vertical lattices. A wall with a door and windows was not only a barrier but also a working back entrance to the lot.

Matching the Bottling Factory

The Yasumoto Sake Brewery South Wall is registered as number 18-0133, for its contribution to the historic landscape, and the Agency praises it as a refined design for marking a boundary.

The bottling factory to the east also has a sasarako clapboard base, and the Agency treats the two as a single design. The 1937 factory and the early Showa wall share one finish and read as one continuous line along the southern edge of the lot.

Seeing the South Wall

The Yasumoto Sake Brewery South Wall lies along the south edge of the lot and, with the bottling factory, forms the view from the back. It may be visible from the south side, but check on site where it can be seen from.

The brewery does not offer tours. Even if the board door in the wall happens to be open, do not go in.