Tanaka Family Residence East Earthen Wall

The Wall behind the East Storehouse

The Tanaka Family Residence East Earthen Wall (田中家住宅東土塀, Tanaka-ke Jūtaku Higashi-dobei) is an earthen boundary wall built in 1905 behind the east storehouse of the Tanaka compound in Iitakacho Hase, Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 2, 2018.

It runs 24 metres from the north side of the east storehouse and turns a right angle at the northeast corner of the lot.

A Backdrop for the Garden

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Tanaka Family Residence East Earthen Wall as a backdrop to the garden northeast of the main house, and it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. Where the front earthen wall faces the road, this one works inside the compound, closing the view from the garden.

It was built in 1905, the same year as the east storehouse. Matsusaka City notes that the northern plot is backed by the small hill of Hase Shrine, and the wall runs toward that rising ground.

A Base that Grows Taller

The Tanaka East Earthen Wall has three layers: a base of river cobbles laid in the diagonal Tanizumi pattern, a clay wall finished in white plaster, and a pantiled roof. It follows the pattern of the other walls, but to cope with the slope its northern half stands on a base built up high like an ishigaki retaining wall.

The change in the height of the stone base between the southern and northern halves is the easiest way to recognise it.

Seeing the East Earthen Wall

Because the Tanaka Family Residence East Earthen Wall lies behind the east storehouse on the eastern boundary, probably only a small part of it can be seen from the road. It has not been announced whether the view from the garden side is included in the Tanaka Family Museum's tours.