What is the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall?
The Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall (森島家住宅内塀, Morishima-ke Jūtaku Uchibei) is a timber garden wall in Higashi 4-chome, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, built around 1924 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 3, 2006. It has a roof of Sangawara-buki tiles and runs for 19 meters.
The wall starts at the Morishima Family Residence Gate on the south edge of the Morihide Textiles site, the home and mill of an omeshi silk weaver, and runs north to meet the side of the main house entrance. This single line of wall separates the lane leading from the gate to the weaving sheds from the family garden south of the house. Kiryu City also calls it an earthen wall and describes it as the divider between the residence and the factory.
Dividing the working lane from the family garden
The Morihide Textiles plot is long and narrow, with the factory to the east of a central lane and the Morishima home to the west. The Morishima Inner Wall stands along the southern stretch of that boundary. Anyone coming through the gate walked north with the mill buildings on the right and this wall on the left, and was led straight to the front door. The garden lay on the far side.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that the inner wall divides the space in front of the entrance from the garden south of the main house, shaping the view of the home from gate to door. With buyers, suppliers and mill hands passing along the lane every day, it was probably also meant to keep the family's garden out of sight.
A plastered wall with a window in every other bay
The Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall is framed with posts set on a timber sill. Kiryu City measured it at 1.96 meters high, with posts every 4 shaku (about 1.2 meters). The upper half is finished in grey Shikkui lime plaster and the lower half in vertical boarding, and the top is capped with tiles.
Every other bay between the posts has a Shitaji-mado, a window made by leaving the bamboo or reed lath of the wall exposed instead of plastering over it. These lattice openings let a little light and movement pass through the wall. Alternating windows and solid panels break up the 19-meter length into an easy rhythm.
Near the north end, beside the entrance, a small door leads into the inner garden. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a Kugurido pass door, while Kiryu City describes it as a single sliding door.
Why the Morishima Inner Wall was registered
The Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. It is small, but it sits at the hinge of the plan, fixing the relationship between gate, lane, entrance and garden.
For a weaver who lived and worked on the same plot, separating business from home was a real design problem. The Morishima Inner Wall shows one answer: share a single gate, then raise one wall along the lane to mark where the mill ends and the household begins.
Seeing the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall
The Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall stands inside the south gate of Morihide Textiles and forms part of a private home, which is not open to the public (checked September 2026). Both faces of the wall lie within the site, so it is difficult to see from the road, and there is no official guidance on photography. Directions to the site and opening details for the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum on the same grounds are on the Morihide Textiles page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- Where is the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall?
- It runs north from the Morishima Family Residence Gate at the south end of the Morihide Textiles site to the side of the main house entrance, dividing the lane to the mill from the garden south of the house.
- How long and how high is the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall?
- It is 19 meters long. Kiryu City measured it at 1.96 meters high, with posts about 1.2 meters apart.
- What should I look for on the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall?
- The plastered upper wall over vertical boarding, and the shitaji-mado lattice windows set in every other bay, which give the long wall a regular rhythm.
- When was the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall registered?
- On August 3, 2006. It is dated to around 1924.
- Can visitors see the Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall?
- No. It stands inside the gate as part of a private home and is not open to the public (checked September 2026).
Basic Information
| Name | Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-2-24 Higashi, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2006 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | 19 m long, 1.96 m high (timber, tiled roof) |
| Owner | Not disclosed (private residence) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public |
References
- Cultural Properties Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005580
- Cultural Heritage Online: Morishima Family Residence Inner Wall
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/141348
- Kiryu City: Morishima Family Residence (Japanese)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1002001.html
Last verified: 2026.09.29
