What the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall is
The Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall (柴田家住宅土塀, Shibata-ke Jūtaku Dobei) is a tile-capped clay wall in Ichinashi, Keihoku Toriicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, built around 1912 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 8, 2008.
It runs 42 meters in all. Starting from the south post of the roji gate, it turns in a U shape around the garden in front of the reception room and the east side of the plot. The wall stands on a stone base and carries a small gabled roof of pantiles.
Of the four registered structures, this is the one that people passing on the road actually see.
Why the Shibata earthen wall was registered
The Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points out that the channel along the front of the plot is also lined with stone, and that the channel and the wall together give the property a traditional residential frontage.
Kyoto City makes the same point: the house stands beside the old road, with a stone base and clay wall built along the channel, and this frontage catches the eye in the local scenery. The city counts the walled compound and its outbuildings as an important part of that landscape.
Rough clay faces and walls of two heights
The faces of the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall are left in rough first-coat clay (arakabe), with the coarse texture of the earth showing. In places a second, smoother intermediate coat (nakanuri) has been applied over it. The wall was never taken to a final finish coat.
Its height is not uniform either. The stretches running north to south are built one step higher than those running east to west, so the builders chose which faces of the U should stand taller.
The stone base reads as one with the stone lining of the channel. Seen from the road, the frontage rises in layers: water, stone, clay wall and, behind it, the roof of the main house.
Seeing the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall
The Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall encloses a private home, and no public opening has been announced. Because it faces the road and the channel, though, it is the easiest of the four structures to see from outside.
Please view it from the road and do not touch or lean on the wall or its stone base; rough clay faces wear easily. Directions are on the Shibata Family Residence page.
Q&A
- Can I see the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall from the road?
- Yes. The Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall stands on a stone base facing the road and the channel, so its exterior can be seen from outside. The property is private, so please do not enter the grounds.
- How long is the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall, and what shape is it?
- It runs 42 meters in all, turning in a U shape from the south post of the roji gate around the garden and the east side of the plot.
- How is the Shibata clay wall in Keihoku finished?
- The faces are rough first-coat clay, with an intermediate coat in places. It is capped with a gabled tile roof, and the north-south stretches are one step higher than the east-west ones.
- When was the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall built?
- Around 1912, about the same time as the main house was framed.
- Why is the Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on July 8, 2008, as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape. Together with the stone-lined channel, it gives the property a traditional frontage.
Basic Information
| Name | Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 43 Ichinashi, Keihoku Toriicho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered July 8, 2008 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Clay wall, tiled roof, total length 42 m |
| Owner | Private owner |
| Public Access | No public opening announced (exterior visible from the road) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007234
- Cultural Heritage Online: Shibata Family Residence Earthen Wall (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/183446
- Kyoto City: Buildings and Gardens of Kyoto, certification of the Shibata house (Japanese)
- https://kyoto-irodoru.city.kyoto.lg.jp/mobile/ukyo/shibatake-n.html
Last verified: 2026.10.28
