An Egyptian-Style Obelisk in a Salt-Making Town
The Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument (野﨑武左衛門翁旌徳碑, Nozaki Buzaemon-ō Shōtoku-hi) is an 18-meter granite obelisk erected in 1894 in Kojima Ajino, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004. People in Kojima usually just call it the Nozaki memorial.
The man it honors, Nozaki Buzaemon (1789 to 1864), opened tidal salt fields along the Kojima coast in the late Edo period and was remembered locally as the "salt field king."
The monument was raised thirty years after his death by his grandson, Nozaki Bukichirō (1848 to 1925), who had entered the House of Peers in 1890. It stands at the back of a small walled garden of roughly 1,000 square meters.
Why the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument Was Registered
Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs registered the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument under the criterion of a structure that "would not be easy to reproduce." Its description lays out the build in layers: a concrete footing, a granite platform about 8 meters square, two stacked pedestals, and on top a single tapering shaft cut from one 12-meter block of stone. The pedestal base covers 66 square meters.
That monolith is the point. The granite came from Mukuchijima, a small island off the Kojima coast. Quarrying a flawless 12-meter piece, shipping it across the water and standing it upright would have tested any contractor in the 1890s.
The design came from Yamada Torakichi, a civil engineer who had trained in France. Kurashiki City describes the result as an unusual example of Egyptian taste in Japanese building. Most memorial stones of the period were natural boulders with an inscription carved on the face; a squared, pointed obelisk stands well apart from that habit.
The obelisk is one of four registered structures on the same plot. A pair of stone gateposts marks the entrance, a low stone bridge crosses a pond in front of the shaft, and a stone retaining wall runs along the east and north edges. Each is listed separately, and all four were entered on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on the same day in 2004. Each was placed to frame the tower.
What to Look for at the Monument
Read the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument from the ground up. The broad platform sits low and square, the two pedestals sit one above the other, and the shaft rises well above everything beneath it. The proportions are top-heavy in the best sense: the plain stone column is clearly the subject, and the base exists only to lift it.
Once you know the shaft is a single piece, look for joints. There are none on the column itself. The stone has stood through more than 130 years of weather in a seaside town without being pieced together or replaced.
The best viewpoint is between the two gateposts at the entrance. The bridge over the pond was deliberately kept almost flat, so your line of sight runs straight across it to the foot of the obelisk. The gateposts themselves carry pointed finials that echo the tower, a detail that is easy to miss until you see both in one frame.
Step back into the street afterward. At 18 meters, Nozaki's obelisk is taller than most of the houses around it, which makes it an easy landmark to find in the streets of Ajino.
Where to Stand at the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument
The Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument stands at the back of the garden, beyond the pond. The upper shaft shows above the street, but to see the whole composition, platform and pedestals included, stand between the gateposts at the entrance and look straight down the axis. Whether you may walk up to the foot of the obelisk is not published, so check with the owner before going in.
The obelisk is solid stone with no interior, so the only question of access is entry to the grounds. No photography restrictions are posted. To fit all 18 meters into one frame, step back toward the gateposts and shoot in portrait orientation.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Okayama
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument
- [ Kurashiki Bikan District & Korakuen Garden Tours ]
Q&A
- How tall is the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument?
- It stands 18 meters in total. A single 12-meter granite shaft rises from a platform about 8 meters square and two stacked pedestals.
- Who built the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument, and when?
- It was erected in 1894 under the lead of Nozaki Bukichirō, grandson of the salt producer Nozaki Buzaemon. The engineer Yamada Torakichi, who had studied in France, designed it.
- How do you pronounce the Japanese name of the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument?
- It is read "Nozaki Buzaemon-ō Shōtoku-hi." The characters for Buzaemon are sometimes misread as Takezaemon, and shōtoku-hi means a monument that honors someone's virtues.
- Is there an admission fee for the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument?
- No fee is charged to view the obelisk from the road. Conditions for entering the garden are not published, so contact the owner in advance if you want to go inside.
- Where is the best place to view the Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument?
- Stand between the gateposts at the entrance. From there you see the obelisk head-on across the stone bridge, with the platform, pedestals and shaft in one view.
Basic Information
| Name | Nozaki Buzaemon Shotoku Monument (野﨑武左衛門翁旌徳碑) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-2129-2 Kojima Ajino, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2004 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Dimensions | Stone; height 18 meters; pedestal area 66 square meters |
| Owner | Ryuo Kaikan Foundation (now a public interest incorporated foundation) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the public road; conditions for entering the grounds not published |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Nozaki Buzaemon-ō Shōtoku-hi
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004179
- Cultural Heritage Online: Nozaki Buzaemon-ō Shōtoku-hi
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/195179
- Kurashiki City: Nozaki Buzaemon-ō Shōtoku-hi and related structures
- https://www.city.kurashiki.okayama.jp/culture/art/1007596/1007597/1011206/1007792/1007801.html
- Nozaki Family Salt Industry Museum: History
- https://www.nozakike.or.jp/history
Last verified: 2026.09.25
