Matsuoka Family Residence Stone Wall, Gate and Fence

The Face of the Compound

The Matsuoka Family Residence Stone Wall, Gate and Fence (松岡家住宅石垣・門及び塀) is the stone retaining wall and the brick and reinforced-concrete walls built on top of it along the front and rear of the Matsuoka sake brewer's compound in Hongō, Hidaka Village, Kōchi Prefecture; begun in the early Taishō era and extended in early Shōwa, it was registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 March 2004.

It runs 22 meters. The official name lists a stone wall, gate and fence, while the Agency for Cultural Affairs classifies the structure as stone, treating it as a single composite work: a masonry base carrying two different kinds of wall.

This is the first thing anyone sees on arrival. The prefecture's feature on the site describes following the signs off the national road until an imposing stone wall and brick fence come into view.

Tortoise-Shell Masonry and Brick

The base is laid in kikkō-zumi, tortoise-shell masonry, with stones dressed to roughly hexagonal shapes and fitted together like the plates of a shell. Each face is finished kobudashi style, left bulging and rough at the center. Tight joints and rugged faces together give the wall both weight and precision.

Two kinds of wall sit on the stone. One is brick in Stretcher bond, stretcher bond, with buttresses on the inner face to keep it upright. The other is reinforced concrete articulated with pilasters. Both are finished with a cornice and a coping of pantiles, so different materials read as one continuous line.

The Matsuoka Family Residence Stone Wall, Gate and Fence was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency's description credits the heavy, precise stonework and the carefully made modern walls with giving the whole property its dignity.

Where Stone Meets Brick

At the Matsuoka Family Residence Stone Wall, Gate and Fence, watch the seam between stone and brick. The tops of the hexagonal blocks are brought to a level, and the brickwork rises straight from that line: a mason's work handed over to a bricklayer along a single course.

From the front, the brick wall is a flat plane. Go around to the inside and buttresses project at regular intervals. A stretcher-bond wall is only half a brick thick, and it needed the extra support. If you get a chance to see the inner face, note the spacing.

The wall was begun in early Taishō and extended in early Shōwa, and that history may well be written in the change from brick to concrete. No source seen for this article says which section is which, but the switch in materials can be traced on site.

Seeing the Walls

Because it faces outward, the Matsuoka Family Residence Stone Wall, Gate and Fence is one of the few listed structures here that can be seen from the lane at any time. Stay on the public road; the grounds are private.

To see the rear walls or the buttressed inner face, visit on an event day or arrange access with the Hidaka Sakagura Association. Booking details and directions are on the Matsuoka Family Residence page.