Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall

What Is the Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall?

The Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall (河合家住宅築地塀, Kawai-ke Jūtaku Tsuijibei) is a late Edo-period (1751 to 1830) earthen Tsuijibei wall enclosing the garden in front of the formal rooms of the Kawai Family Residence in Ao Kajigamae, Nagaokakyo City, Kyoto Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.

The Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall wraps the garden in an L shape and is 10 m long including the corner. It is a Dobei earthen wall raised on a base of roughly piled, undressed stones, plastered in Shikkui and capped with Sangawara-buki pantiles, with a low ridge of stacked noshi tiles.

Why the Tsukiji Wall Was Registered

The Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

What the Agency for Cultural Affairs stresses is its height. The wall is deliberately kept low so that from the reception room of the main house one can look across the garden to the Daigo hills. Daigo lies on the eastern rim of the Kyoto basin, so from this house at the foot of the western hills the view runs right across the basin. An enclosure that does not close off the view: the height of the wall was itself part of the design.

What to Look For

The Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall is built in three layers: stone, earth and tile. At the bottom is a base of undressed stones simply piled up; on it rises the earthen wall, finished in white lime plaster.

The top is laid with pantiles, and the ridge is built up from stacked flat noshi tiles. A tall stack of noshi makes a wall look heavy and formal; here it is kept low. That low ridge fits the concern for the view noted in the official description.

The L-shaped enclosure in front of the reception room pairs with that room in the northern row of the main house. The front gate and high wall on the road date from the Taisho period, but the Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall is late Edo, the same age as the main house, so the enclosure of the inner garden for receiving guests goes back to the Edo period.

Visiting the Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall

The Kawai Family Residence Tsukiji Wall encloses the garden in front of the reception room, and as part of a private home it is not open; no notice of public openings could be found as of October 2026.

The view of the Daigo hills is a view from inside the house. Whether the wall can be seen from the road has not been confirmed. The layout of the whole estate and directions are on the Kawai Family Residence page.