What kote-e is
Kote-e is a relief picture modelled in Shikkui with a trowel. The plasterer uses the tool of his trade as a drawing instrument.
Storehouse gables carry it. The storehouse and watchman's room at the Fukuda Residence in Kochi Prefecture, built in 1919, are described as having weatherboarding at the base of the west face with local plaster above and two courses of drip tiles, and waves modelled in relief above those courses on the north and south gables. The position is sheltered from rain and plainly visible.
The main house on the same property, built in 1924, is described as a good example of a modern house in the Japanese manner in Kochi, characterised by the plaster relief on its gables. The work is cited as grounds for the building's value.
Window hoods carry it too. The Kinryo Fujii storehouse in Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1918, has relief ornament on the Mochiokuri beneath the hood on its south gable.
The plasterer's name survives
The maker is sometimes known. The Ozaki Residence storehouse in Kochi Prefecture, built in 1927, is described as a two-storey storehouse about 5.5 by 3.6 metres, pantiled and Kirizuma-zukuri with its roof frame standing free of the walls, entered from the eaves side, with two courses of drip tiles characteristic of the province. An inked inscription gives the year and names both the carpenter and the plasterer, identifying the maker of the dragon among waves and clouds modelled on the east and west gables.
Three things follow from that entry. Inscriptions come to light through work such as Kaitai shūri; carpenter and plasterer are recorded separately; and the subject of the relief is named precisely.
Waves, dragons, clouds, cranes and tortoises recur. Water subjects appear repeatedly, at Fukuda and at Ozaki alike. They are sometimes explained as charms against fire, though the records themselves only name the subject.
On site, look up at the gable of a storehouse. A picture standing proud of the white wall and casting a shadow is modelled in relief; one lying flat is painted on the plaster.
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Registered tangible cultural properties (structures)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/toroku_yukei.html
- National Cultural Properties Database: Fukuda Residence storehouse, with a lean-to sheltering the area in front of the door
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003009
- National Cultural Properties Database: Fukuda Residence, eight rooms in three ranks around a twelve-and-a-half-mat room
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003006
- National Cultural Properties Database: Kinryo Fujii storehouse, plaster relief on the brackets of its window hood
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003142
- National Cultural Properties Database: Ozaki Residence storehouse, with a detached roof frame and an eaves-side entrance
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003015
Last verified: 2026.09.11