What the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall is
The Former Kai Family Residence South Wall (旧甲斐家住宅南塀, Kyū Kai-ke Jūtaku Minamibei) is a late Taishō (1919 to 1926) brick wall along the south side of the Kai estate in Aza Itchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.
It follows a lane along the southern boundary as far as the koji storehouse at the southwest corner. It is 45 meters long and 2.5 meters high, with a pantiled coping (Sangawara-buki), a projecting cornice band and a stone-clad base.
The Former Kai Family Residence South Wall repeats the build of the east and north walls on the main road but drops the height from 4 meters to 2.5. The wall facing the main street is made grander; the one on the back lane is scaled down.
Why it was registered
It was registered as contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the doorway in front of the koji storehouse is a triangular arch, deliberately different from the doorway in the east wall, and that the wall gives order to the outer edge of the estate.
As with the east wall, the faces differ: brick tiles toward the lane and, inside, a German-style roughcast plaster with gravel left in a coarse finish. Height and doorway change from front to back, while materials and finishes stay the same, so the whole perimeter reads as one design.
What to look for
The feature to find is the double-leaf doorway in front of the koji storehouse, topped with a triangular arch. The agency used a view of it from the south as one of its registration photographs.
Behind the doorway rise the earthen wall and raised ventilator roof of the koji storehouse, so brick wall and storehouse together frame the southwest corner. Because the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall is only 2.5 meters high, the storehouse roofs show clearly above it from the lane.
Visiting the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall
The Former Kai Family Residence South Wall faces the lane and can be seen from the road during the closure. The agency's photo looks along it from the southwest, from the koji storehouse end toward the east. Scaffolding or sheeting may cover parts of it at some stages of the work.
The inner face can be seen only from inside the estate, which has been closed since April 2023 for conservation work. Special openings are held about once a year, with the next planned for March 2027. Directions and the repair schedule are on the Former Kai Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Where is the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall?
- Along the lane on the south side of the Kai estate, running to the koji storehouse at the southwest corner.
- How long and tall is the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall?
- It is 45 meters long and 2.5 meters high.
- How does the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall differ from the east wall?
- It is built the same way in brick but stands 2.5 meters high against the east wall's 4, and its doorway in front of the koji storehouse is a triangular arch.
- What is the finish of the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall?
- A stone-clad base, brick tiles on the lane side and roughcast on the inside, under a pantiled coping with a cornice band.
- Can I see the Former Kai Family Residence South Wall during the closure?
- Yes, from the lane. The estate has been closed since April 2023, so the inner face cannot be seen.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Kai Family Residence South Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 4611-1 Aza Itchome, Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2021 (Reiwa 3) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Brick, tiled coping, length 45 m |
| Owner | Kitakata City |
| Public Access | Outer face visible from the road; estate closed since 2023 for conservation work planned through fiscal 2030 |
References
- Former Kai Family Residence South Wall (Agency for Cultural Affairs database)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013936
- Former Kai Family Residence South Wall (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/583426
- Former Kai Family Residence East and North Walls (Agency for Cultural Affairs database)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013935
- Conservation work on the Former Kai Family Kura Residence (Kitakata City)
- https://www.city.kitakata.fukushima.jp/site/kyukaike/57982.html
Last verified: 2026.10.01
