Urushibara Family Residence Earthen Wall

What the Earthen Wall Is

The Urushibara Family Residence Earthen Wall (漆原家住宅土塀, Urushibara-ke Jūtaku Dobei) in Mitani-cho, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, is a late Edo period (1751 to 1830) earthen perimeter wall, 262 meters long, enclosing a rural samurai estate; it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 27, 2023.

The wall is capped with tiles, finished in white Shikkui plaster on the outside and left at the intermediate plaster coat on the inside. It runs without a break around the east, north and west sides of the estate and along the south side from its western end to the nagayamon gate. Its address covers lot 1377-1 and neighboring lots.

Length and Craft

The Urushibara Family Residence Earthen Wall is register no. 37-0484, listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs praises both its great length and the skill with which it was built.

At 262 meters it goes almost all the way around a plot of roughly 7,000 square meters, so that in the surrounding farmland the white line of the wall is the outline of the estate. With the main house and the gate, it is one of only three registered elements on the estate that go back to the late Edo period.

Two Kinds of Stonework and a Curving Corner

The wall stands on a stone base, and the masonry changes from side to side. Along the south, the stones are dressed to fit closely (Kirikomi-hagi). On the other three sides, where a moat runs outside, they are roughly shaped and packed (Uchikomi-hagi). The more careful work went on the street front.

At the northeast the wall bends in a curve to follow the edge of the plot. A straight run would have been far easier to build; the Agency sees the curve as evidence of the builders' skill.

According to Shinya Ishida of the Kagawa Prefectural Board of Education, the family keeps its plastered walls in order by repairing damaged stretches as they appear, rather than waiting for a major overhaul.

Seeing the Earthen Wall

Because the Urushibara Family Residence Earthen Wall forms the outer edge of the estate, it can be seen from the surrounding roads. On the south you see the dressed-stone base and the wall running to the gate; on the other sides the wall follows the moat on its rougher stone footing. At the northeast corner the curve is easy to make out.

Behind the wall is a private home that is not open. Please keep to the road and do not climb down to the moat or onto private land.