Northern Culture Museum Wall

A 211-Metre Enclosure

The Northern Culture Museum Wall (北方文化博物館塀) in Somi, Konan Ward, Niigata City, is a tile-capped timber boundary wall of about 1887, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 28 April 2000.

The Northern Culture Museum Wall runs right round the Ito family estate for 211 metres. It is built in the Shinkabe manner, with the posts showing on the face. Outside, the lower part is clad in sasara-ko weatherboard and the band above is finished in sand plaster, with slatted Renji-mado windows at intervals.

Wall, Moat and Trees Together

The Northern Culture Museum Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points out that a broad moat still survives in parts outside it, and that wall, moat Ishigaki stonework and the trees within combine into a setting fit for a great landowner's house.

The listing is best understood that way: not the wall alone, but the whole outer edge of the estate built around it.

Two Textures and a Row of Windows

Sasara-ko weatherboard, used on the lower part of the Northern Culture Museum Wall, holds overlapping horizontal boards with vertical battens notched to fit the laps, so upright lines run across the surface at regular intervals. Above it, the sand-plaster band gives a second, softer texture.

The slatted windows break up the closed face. Walk along the wall and note where they occur.

The surviving moat, broad as the agency describes it, shows that the estate was once marked off by water as well as by the wall.

Visiting the Wall

The outer face of the Northern Culture Museum Wall can be seen from outside the estate. Where the moat survives, water, stone, wall and trees line up in one view.

The inner face is visible from the grounds on opening days. Ask at reception before taking photographs inside.