Shotokukan South Wall

About the Shotokukan South Wall

The Shotokukan South Wall (樟徳館南塀, Shōtokukan Minamibei) is a roofed boundary wall of 1939 in Hishiyanishi 2-chome, Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 18, 2000. It encloses the south side of Shotokukan, the former private home of Mori Heizo, founder of the Shoin Gakuen schools, and stretches for about 70 meters.

The Shotokukan South Wall begins at the south end of the gate beside the Nagase River, turns at the southeast corner of the grounds and runs west along the south edge. It is the longest of the six registered Shotokukan structures, roughly three times the length of the east wall (about 24 meters) on the other side of the gate. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database records it as timber with a tiled roof and a length of 70 meters.

Why It Was Registered

The Shotokukan South Wall was registered as a model of form. The Agency's commentary singles out the wooden yarai fence placed in front of it, which it says turns the side lane into a space with real character.

Where the east wall keeps its distance from the riverside road with a strip of planting, the Shotokukan South Wall does so with a timber fence. The two walls are built alike, yet greenery fronts the main approach and a fence fronts the side lane. That shift suggests the whole outer edge of the estate was thought through as one plan.

Seventy Meters of Wall and a Timber Fence

The Shotokukan South Wall is built the same way as the east wall: posts stand on a timber sill and stay visible on the face in the Shinkabe manner, the base is boarded, the upper part is earthen plaster, and a small roof of Sangawara-buki tiles runs along the top. With the same specification repeated for almost 70 meters, the evenly spaced posts and the level line of the boarding draw a long horizontal along the lane.

The yarai in front is a fence of timber members. Placed between passers-by and the wall face, it gives the lane a narrow margin of space. The verticals of the fence overlap with the verticals of the posts behind, a layered view particular to the Shotokukan South Wall.

Take a look at the corner as well. Coming down from the gate, the Shotokukan South Wall turns west at the southeast corner, and from that one spot you can compare the short riverside run with the long stretch along the lane.

Seeing the Shotokukan South Wall

The Shotokukan South Wall faces the lane along the south edge of the grounds, so its outside can be seen at any time. Walking north along the Nagase River from the Nagase Station side, you reach the southeast corner of the grounds before the gate. Turn into the lane there and walk west to follow the wall's full length.

The inside of the Shotokukan South Wall is school property and can only be entered during the public opening held once every four years. The lane is a local residential street, so keep clear of traffic when you stop to look.