Ishikawa Family Residence Northeast Wall

A Timber Wall on the Far Side

The Ishikawa Family Residence Northeast Wall (石川家住宅北東塀, Ishikawa-ke Jūtaku Hokutōbei) is a timber boundary wall of around 1889 in Fukae-minami, Higashinari Ward, Osaka City, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 27 February 2023.

It follows the north and east sides of the Ishikawa compound for 29 metres. Starting at the storehouse on the north side, it turns a right angle at the northeast corner and runs down the east side to the northeast corner of the main house. It was altered in the early Showa era.

Where the south and west sides are closed by white plastered earthen walls, the Ishikawa Family Residence Northeast Wall is built of timber posts and boards, giving the back of the property a quite different face.

Why It Was Registered

The Northeast Wall was registered, as number 27-0869, for its contribution to the historic townscape.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it shapes a historic street space. Timber fencing lines two streets, north and east, so that anyone walking either side of the corner sees the outline of the old property plainly.

What to Look For

Exposed Posts and Boarding

The wall is roofed in pantiles and built in shinkabe fashion, its posts left visible, with boarding along the lower part. The Agency's photographs are captioned as a vertical-board wall, and it is that boarded face that meets the street.

Two Heights

The Ishikawa Family Residence Northeast Wall changes height from one side to the other. Along the north it stands 2.1 metres high, with a service entrance and buttresses of dressed stone, braces that project from the wall to keep it from leaning.

Along the east it drops to 1.7 metres. The Agency records that the east side once had a ranma, an open-work panel near the top, at intervals of one ken, the traditional unit of bay width, letting air and light through an otherwise closed fence. Stand at the northeast corner and compare the tall north run with the lower east one.

Seeing the Wall

The Ishikawa Family Residence Northeast Wall is the outer wall of a private property owned by Ishikawa Co., Ltd., and it can be seen from the road. The grounds behind it are not open.

Take it in order: the service entrance and stone buttresses on the north, the corner, then the lower run to the east. Photograph from the public road only, and do not touch the wall or the door. Directions to the compound are on the Ishikawa Family Residence page.