What the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall Is
The Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall (森澤家住宅築地塀, Morisawa-ke jūtaku tsuijibei) is a middle Meiji-period earthen wall in Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. A tsuijibei is a roofed wall of rammed or packed earth. This one stands at the southwest corner of the estate and runs along two sides, west and south, for a total of 26 metres.
Both sides are 0.3 metres thick and carry a tiled coping. The west side is 10.5 metres long and 1.8 metres high: a plastered earthen wall set on a base of rounded cobbles.
The south side is 15 metres long and 1.8 metres high, and here the earthen wall above a stone base has river stones worked into its clay.
Why It Was Registered
The Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the south side, with its embedded river stones, for its distinctive appearance.
Walls with river stones pressed into clay are a hallmark of Doi itself. Aki City names walls of Aki River cobbles and old tiles bedded in red clay among the defining features of the Doi Kachū streetscape. The south side of the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall applies that local way of building to the front of a Meiji landowner's estate.
And it is the front. The estate faces south, with the gatehouse at the southeast corner and this wall at the southwest. The most labour-intensive, cobble-studded construction was chosen for the wall that stands beside the gate as the public face of the house.
What to Look For
Compare the two sides. The west side is a smooth plastered wall over a base of rounded cobbles. The south side is a clay wall set with river stones, their rounded heads dotted across the face. Turning at a right angle from the same corner, the two runs could hardly look more different.
The 15-metre south run is the stretch of the estate most plainly meant to be seen. The stones set in a clay wall 1.8 metres high and 0.3 metres thick catch the light differently through the day, and their relief shows best when the sun rakes across them in the early morning or late afternoon.
Look down at the base, too. Rounded cobbles on the west, laid stone on the south: in both cases a stone footing lifts the earth wall off the ground, protecting it from splashing rain and ground damp.
Visiting
No opening of the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall has been announced (checked 25 September 2026). As it stands on the perimeter, the outer faces of the south and west runs may be visible from outside. If you can, view it from the south, with the river-stone face of the south run in front of you.
Take photographs from the public road only and do not look over the wall into the grounds. Directions to the estate are on the Morisawa Family Residence page.
Q&A
- How is the name of the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall read?
- As Morisawa-ke jūtaku tsuijibei. A tsuijibei is an earthen wall capped with a tiled roof.
- Where is the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall?
- At the southwest corner of the Morisawa Family Residence, running along the west and south sides for a total of 26 metres.
- What is special about the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall?
- Its south side has river stones worked into the clay above a stone base, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out as distinctive. The west side is a plastered earth wall on a cobble base.
- How big is the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall?
- The west side is 10.5 metres long and the south side 15 metres; both are 1.8 metres high and 0.3 metres thick.
- Can you see the Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall?
- No opening has been announced, but because it stands on the perimeter, the outer faces of the south and west runs may be visible from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall (森澤家住宅築地塀) |
|---|---|
| Location | 559 Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 39-0206 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Earthen wall, tiled coping, total length 26 metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (exterior from outside only) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Morisawa Family Residence Tsuiji Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005052
- Kochi Prefecture: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
- Aki City: Doi Kachu Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings
- https://www.city.aki.kochi.jp/life/dtl.php?hdnKey=1381
Last verified: 2026.09.25
