Twenty Metres That Make the South Front
The Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall is a mud walled boundary of the late Meiji era, built between 1898 and 1912 at Usaida in Noichicho, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture, and registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 6 March 2024. It runs 20 metres in total and is roofed with tile.
It begins west of the front gate and wraps around both flanks of the Shikidai entrance of the main house. It is not a straight run. It turns as it goes, and those turns produce the Masugata approach, the dog-legged route that changes the direction of anyone who has just come through the gate.
Of the six registered structures this is the only one that is not a building, yet nothing else here does more to fix the shape of the compound.
The Piece That Binds the Other Four Together
The criterion was contribution to the historic landscape. The national database states that around the entrance of the main house the wall forms a samurai style frontage as a single entity with the front gate, the side gate and the heijumon gate.
Three gates are named in that sentence, and the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall is what strings them into one line. Gates standing separately would not add up to a compound; a wall on its own would confer no rank on any doorway. The phrase "as a single entity" is doing precise work.
Its register number is 39-0314, the last of the six.
Large Natural Stone Beneath the Mud
What catches the eye first is not the wall but what holds it up. Large natural stones, laid with little dressing, form the footing on which the mud wall stands. The national register calls this stonework robust, and in places the stones assert themselves more strongly than the wall above them.
A Sangawara-buki tiled roof caps the whole run. Earth is vulnerable to rain, and putting a roof on a wall to shed water off its head is the standard remedy. The record notes that the outer face was formerly finished in Shikkui lime plaster; the original white surface does not survive intact today.
Stand beside the front gate and look west, and you see three layers, stone, earth and tile, running 20 metres in one continuous band. Seen from outside, the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall is the element you spend the longest looking at.
Seeing the Earthen Wall
The stretch of the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall running west from the front gate faces the road and can be seen freely. The coursing of the stone footing, the height of the wall and the way the pantiles sit are all readable from outside. The sections that wrap around the flanks of the shikidai entrance lie inside the compound and are not visible from the public way.
No restriction on photographing the exterior from the road has been posted. For access to the grounds, contact the Cultural Promotion and Protection Section of the Konan City Board of Education, Lifelong Learning Division, telephone 0887-54-2296. Do not lean on the wall or climb the stonework.
Directions are on the Former Morita Family Residence page. Details confirmed on 13 September 2026.
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Q&A
- Can I see the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall, and is there a fee?
- The stretch running west from the front gate faces the road and can be seen at any time, with no hours or fee. The sections that turn in beside the main house entrance are inside the grounds and cannot be seen from outside.
- How long is the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall?
- 20 metres in total. It runs from west of the front gate and wraps around both flanks of the formal entrance of the main house, forming a dog-legged approach.
- What is the stonework under the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall?
- A footing of large natural stones, laid with little dressing, carrying the mud wall above. The national register describes this stonework as robust.
- When was the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall built?
- The national register places it in the late Meiji era, between 1898 and 1912. It was registered as a cultural property on 6 March 2024.
- Why was the Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall registered?
- As a contribution to the historic landscape. Around the entrance of the main house it forms a samurai style frontage together with the front gate, the side gate and the heijumon gate.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 482-1 Kobayashidani, Usaida, Noichicho, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 6 March 2024 (Reiwa 6) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Total length 20 metres |
| Owner | Konan City |
| Public Access | Not open to the public. Exterior visible from the road on the south side |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Former Morita Family Residence Earthen Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014971
- Kochi Prefecture: National Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings), Cities 1 of 2
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2024031100056/
- Konan City: Former Morita Family Residence (birthplace of Morita Masatake)
- https://www.city.kochi-konan.lg.jp/soshikikarasagasu/kyoikuiinkaishogaigakushuka/rekishi_bunkazai/2/2582.html
- Konan City: Report to the 111th regular session of the Konan City Assembly
- https://www.city.kochi-konan.lg.jp/material/files/group/2/202403_syohann_houkoku.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.13
