Iritakenishi Family Residence Well

What is the Iritakenishi Family Residence Well?

The Iritakenishi Family Residence Well (入嵩西家住宅井戸, Iritakenishi-ke Jūtaku Ido) is a stone-lined well from the late Meiji period in the southwest corner of the Iritakenishi Family Residence in Shinkawa, Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on July 31, 2007.

It is about 90 centimeters across and about 10 meters deep. The curb ring around its mouth is made of coral stone, and the national record gives its area as 0.7 square meters.

Why It Was Registered: The Oldest Part of the Homestead

The Iritakenishi well was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, small as it is, it helps form a compound landscape characteristic of Okinawa.

The same description says the well is thought to have been dug before the main house was built. Since the house dates from around 1911, that would make the Iritakenishi Family Residence Well the oldest of the four registered structures. Water came first; the house followed.

The house, screen wall and stone wall shape what a passer-by sees. The well served the daily life behind them, and its survival in its corner means the farmstead is still complete.

What to Look For: A Curb Ring of Four Coral Stones

The curb of the Iritakenishi Family Residence Well is made of just four pieces of coral stone. Each was worked to a thickness of 13 centimeters, and the four are fitted together in a circle around the mouth of the well.

Coral stone, rich in lime, has long been a building material in the Ryukyu Islands. Closing a ring about 90 centimeters across with only four stones meant working each piece with care, and the small curb shows that effort.

A round concrete lid now sits on top. The 10-meter shaft cannot be seen; what remains visible is the stone ring and its cover.

Visiting the Well

The Iritakenishi well lies in the southwest corner of a private home's grounds, which are closed to visitors. It sits inside the stone wall, and how much of it can be seen from the road has not been confirmed.

Viewing is from the road only. Please do not lean over the wall to look in; photographs of the curb ring are available in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.