What Sekishū-gawara means

Sekishū-gawara are roof tiles fired in the Iwami region, or Sekishū, of western Shimane Prefecture. According to Shimane Prefecture, they are made from fine clay dug in the west of the prefecture and a glaze made from Kimachi stone, a speciality of Matsue, fired at over 1,200°C to produce their distinctive red. The high firing is said to give great resistance to water, frost, the weight of snow and salt damage.

The Geological Survey of Japan describes them as distinctive red tiles resistant to cold, and notes that red tiles using the Kimachi-stone glaze began to be made in the mid-Edo period. Red-brown roofs are a hallmark of Iwami townscapes, and the tiles were shipped to and laid in many cold places along the Sea of Japan coast. Most are the same shape as ordinary pantiles, distinguished by colour and firing.

Reading the records and the roof

Records name them as the roofing material. The storehouse of the Hirata Dairoku family in Sekikawa, Niigata, built in 1835, has a low raised roof laid with Sekishū tiles, showing the tiles in use far from where they were made. The main house of the Inazumi family in Ohnan, Shimane, a large farmhouse ten bays by five, has a gabled roof of Sekishū tiles. The storehouse of the Mutsumi village office in Hagi, Yamaguchi, is roofed with Sekishū tiles, like the office itself.

On site, look at the colour of the tiles. A glossy red-brown from the glaze suggests Sekishū tiles, but similar red tiles were fired elsewhere, and Okinawan red tiles differ in both method and form, so rely on the record for the source.

References

石州瓦｜島根県
https://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/admin/seisaku/koho/photo/211/8.html
須藤定久「島根県の石州瓦と原料粘土」｜地質ニュース（産業技術総合研究所）
https://www.gsj.jp/data/chishitsunews/00_06_10.pdf
平田大六家住宅土蔵｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001332
稲積家住宅主屋｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00006426
むつみ村役場土蔵｜文化遺産オンライン
https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/191229

Last verified: 2026.09.27