Former Fujimura Family Residence (Tamura Family Residence) Earthen Wall

The Wall Along the Highway

The Former Fujimura Family Residence (Tamura Family Residence) Earthen Wall is a tile-capped earthen wall of the early Meiji era (1868–1882) enclosing the west and south sides of a townhouse compound on the old Hokkoku Kaidō in Nonoichi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021.

It runs out from both sides of the west-facing Front Gate and turns a right angle to follow the southern boundary, 34 metres in all. The clay wall rises from a stone base, and at the top wooden brackets project to carry a small roof of pantiles.

Like the Front Gate it belongs to the early Meiji years, a span that takes in 1878, the year Emperor Meiji stopped at the Fujimura house.

Why It Was Registered

The wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with shaping the west and south edges of the property.

Walking down the old highway, what tells you a substantial house stands here is less any single building than this line of wall. For 34 metres its tiled coping ties the Front Gate and the Front Storehouse into one frontage. It is telling that Nonoichi City chose a full-length photograph of the Earthen Wall to introduce the Former Fujimura Family Residence.

What to Look For

Look at the base on the street side. Here the stone footing is faced with cut blocks of Tomuro stone, an andesite quarried near Kanazawa and used in the walls of Kanazawa Castle, the signature stone of the old Kaga domain. The same stone that built a castle lines the foot of this merchant's wall in neatly dressed courses.

At the top, brackets pushed out from the wall carry the little tiled roof that keeps rain off the clay. The overhang throws a line of shadow along the crest.

The wall starts at the gate and turns a crisp corner at the southern boundary. That single continuous line, highway side and south side, is what defines the corner of the Former Fujimura Family Residence.

Viewing the Earthen Wall

The Earthen Wall faces the old highway, and its west face can be seen from the public road. Behind it is private property, and entry is not permitted.

Stand close to the base to see the texture of the cut Tomuro stone; step across the road to take in the full run together with the gate and storehouse. Please do not touch or lean on the wall. Directions are on the Former Fujimura Family Residence page.