What the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall is
The Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall (内野家住宅煉瓦塀, Uchino-ke Jūtaku Renga-bei) is a brick garden wall built around 1926 in the former samurai quarter of Iwanoue-chō, Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2005.
The wall encloses a garden on the east side of the main house's reception wing in a U shape, with a garden gate opening toward the entrance. It stands about 1.5 m high and turns its corners over a total length of about 18 m.
It is built of Slag brick, slag brick, laid half a brick thick, that is, the width of a single brick's short side. With bricks of standard size that makes the wall only about 10 cm thick. Piers a full brick thick stiffen it at key points, and the top is finished in brick shaped like a small roof.
Why the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall was registered
The Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall was registered as something not easily reproduced. The Agency for Cultural Affairs draws attention to its careful workmanship, with the piers and coping all worked in brick.
A wall only half a brick thick is slender and would topple easily on its own. Here, full-thickness piers set at intervals brace the run, and the roof-shaped coping sheds rain. The builders solved both strength and weathering with brick alone while keeping the wall light in appearance.
Slag brick is made from the slag left over when metal is smelted. Rebuilding the wall in the same material and bond would be difficult today, which fits the spirit of the criterion it was registered under.
What to look for in the Uchino brick wall
The agency describes the wall as the backdrop to a miniature, box-garden composition in front of a Chashitsu tea room. The Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall was built less to keep the world out than to frame a small garden seen from the reception rooms and tea room.
Its height of about 1.5 m suits that role. Seen from a seated position indoors, it sits just above eye level, screening the outside while giving the garden plants a backdrop. Turning its corners in a U shape, it wraps the garden on three sides like a room of its own.
It also dates from the same moment as the main house. While the Edo steps, gate and wall kept the street front unchanged, the brick wall gave the new 1926 home a garden stage built in a modern material.
Visiting the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall
The Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall stands inside a private property, in the garden east of the reception wing, and is not normally open. It is hard to see from the road, and visitors may not go past the gateposts.
The garden has been opened in the past during the Hirado Oniwa Meguri garden tour, and those openings have been the only chance to see the wall up close. Background on the openings and directions are on the Uchino Family Residence page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Nagasaki
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall
- [ Gunkanjima Island Landing & Glover Garden Tours ]
Q&A
- When was the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall built?
- Around 1926, at the same time as the main house.
- What kind of brick is the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall made of?
- Slag brick, laid half a brick thick, with full-thickness brick piers at key points and a roof-shaped brick coping.
- How large is the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall?
- About 1.5 m high and about 18 m long, wrapping a garden in a U shape.
- Can I see the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall?
- Not normally. It stands inside the garden of a private home and is hard to see from the road. In the past it could be seen during special garden openings.
- Why is the Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2005 as something not easily reproduced, recognised for its careful slag-brick workmanship.
Basic Information
| Name | Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall (内野家住宅煉瓦塀) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1165-1 Iwanoue-chō, Hirado City, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005-02-09 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Length 18 m, height about 1.5 m |
| Owner | Private (no owner name in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (inside the garden of a private home) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004677
- Cultural Heritage Online: Uchino Family Residence Brick Wall
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/117757
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Uchino Family Residence Main House
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004676
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/toroku_yukei.html
Last verified: 2026.10.06
