Iida Family Residence Wall

What the Wall Is

The Iida Family Residence Wall (飯田家住宅塀, Iida-ke Jūtaku Hei) is a late Meiji-period earthen garden wall in Toyoshina Takibe, Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005. It encloses the garden that spreads southeast of the main house in front of the reception wing and runs for 63 meters. Its registration number, 20-0249, is the last in the estate's sequence.

Starting at the west end of the reception wing, the wall runs south, follows the south and east edges of the lot, and ends at the southeast corner of the archive storehouse. With this one structure the garden is enclosed on two sides.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs classes it as an ancillary structure, timber-framed with a tiled roof.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency credits the Iida Family Residence Wall with forming the view of the estate's southeast side.

It attaches to the reception wing at its northwest end and runs into the archive storehouse at its southeast end. Strung between buildings in this way, it turns the garden in front of the reception rooms into a space sealed off from the outside. The inner gate opens partway along it, giving the route from the forecourt into the garden.

What to Look For

The wall rises from a base of Ishigaki stonework. Posts stand on it at intervals of 1 ken (about 1.8 meters), and the panels between them are finished in white plaster. The regular rhythm of posts divides the white surface into equal bays that repeat for the full 63 meters.

A tiled roof along the top keeps rain off the clay. Seen in section, the wall is three horizontal layers: stone, white plaster and tile.

Notice where the Iida Family Residence Wall turns the corner from the south edge to the east edge. It follows the boundary of the lot without a break, so the garden stays closed on both sides.

Viewing the Wall

The Iida Family Residence Wall forms part of the perimeter of a private residence, and the garden inside it is not open.

Because it follows the south and east edges of the lot, its outer face should be visible from roads on those sides of the estate. Do not touch the wall or peer through gaps, and keep photography to exteriors seen from the road.

Directions and notes on visiting the estate are on the Iida Family Residence page.