What Is the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall?
The Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall (榎原家住宅掛塀, Ebara-ke Jūtaku Kakebei) is a roofed boundary wall built around 1890 in Toyotsu-cho, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 9 June 2004. It runs behind the main house and closes off the northern edge of the Ebara estate.
It is a tiled timber structure 21 metres long, with an opening roughly in the middle. The national database classes it not as a building but as another kind of structure.
Why the Kakebei Wall Was Registered
The Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as solidly built yet strongly horizontal, creating a streetscape of its own.
Where the east side of the estate is its formal front of gate and storehouses, the kakebei wall takes care of the back. It dates from around 1890, the same time as the west storehouse and the rice storehouse, and the dates suggest that the corners and edges of the estate were completed together in those years.
What to Look For
The wall stands on a tall base of dressed stone, with a post every ken, about 1.8 metres. From each post an Udeki bracket reaches out to carry a projecting beam, and on these sits a small pantiled roof. The result is a row of tiny eaves along the top of the wall, casting one continuous shadow over 21 metres.
On the outer face, the lower part is clad in an unbroken run of funaita, boards generally said to come from old boats. Above it, a narrow band of wall between the posts is finished in Shikkui plaster. Dark boards, a white band, then the tiled roof: three horizontal layers that stretch the wall out even further to the eye.
The west storehouse at the north-west corner uses the same pairing of a tall stone base and boat-board cladding. Wall and storehouse date from the same years, and they share their materials too.
Visiting the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall
The Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall belongs to a private home, and the grounds cannot be entered.
It runs along the northern edge of the plot behind the main house, away from the gate on the east street, so it is hard to see from the street front. Osaka Bunkazai Navi publishes a photograph of the north side of the main house that includes the wall.
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Q&A
- When was the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall built?
- The national database dates it to around 1890. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 9 June 2004.
- Where is the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall?
- Behind the main house, along the northern edge of the estate, with an opening near its middle.
- How long is the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall?
- It is 21 metres long, with a post every ken carrying brackets, a projecting beam and a pantiled roof.
- How is the outer face of the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall finished?
- The lower part is clad in boat boards, and the narrow band above is plastered between the posts. The whole wall stands on a tall stone base.
- Can I see the Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall?
- The grounds are private, and the wall is hard to see from the east street. A photograph is available on Osaka Bunkazai Navi.
Basic Information
| Name | Ebara Family Residence Kakebei Wall |
|---|---|
| Location | 25-2 Toyotsucho, Suita City, Osaka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 9 June 2004 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber structure, tiled roof, 21 metres long |
| Owner | Private |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (private residence) |
References
- 榎原家住宅掛塀 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004154
- 榎原家住宅掛塀 (Cultural Heritage Online)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/117034
- 指定・登録文化財一覧 (Suita City)
- https://www.city.suita.osaka.jp/bunkazai/shitei/1031084.html
- 榎原家住宅主屋 (Osaka Bunkazai Navi)
- https://osaka-bunkazainavi.org/bunkazai/%E6%A6%8E%E5%8E%9F%E5%AE%B6%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E4%B8%BB%E5%B1%8B
Last verified: 2026.09.29
