Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall

What Is the Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall?

The Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall (旧北室醫院土塀, Kyū Kitamuro Iin Dobei) is a tiled earthen wall 58 meters in total length, built in the late Taisho era in Handa, Tsurugi Town, Tokushima Prefecture, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 17, 2020. It wraps the compound in an L, running along the eastern half of the south side and down the whole east side, and so forms the outer edge of the southeast corner where the main house stands.

The south stretch contains the opening into the main house, and the formal face of the Kitamuro compound is made by this long run of white wall.

Why the Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall Was Registered

The Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for contributing to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with giving the southeast front of the site a sense of weight and dignity.

A wall exists to enclose, but this one is also a piece of entrance design. Midway along the south side the wall opens, and its cut ends are bent inward to the north to form the approach to the main house. Anyone coming in through the south entrance is turned by the fold of the wall toward the front door. The plan of the wall itself sets the visitor's path, and that is the heart of the Kitamuro Earthen Wall.

What to Look For at the Kitamuro Earthen Wall

The folded entrance

Stand in the opening on the south side and you can see both ends of the wall curling inward. From outside the gap you cannot see straight into the grounds; one step in, the main house appears ahead. It is far less rigid than the right-angled gateways of samurai residences, but it can be read as the same idea of breaking the line of sight to create depth.

Washed-aggregate base and white plaster

The wall is roofed in pan tiles (Sangawara-buki) and plastered in lime (Shikkui), and on the south side only, the lower band is finished in araidashi. In this technique cement mixed with gravel is applied and, before it fully sets, washed with water to expose the stones, leaving a rough strip of pebbles beneath the white wall. Giving this extra finish only to the south side, the formal front, shows where the builders chose to spend their effort.

Openings modeled on slatted windows

At intervals the wall is pierced by openings fitted with vertical wooden bars. The Agency likens them to mushiko-mado, the narrow slatted windows of townhouse upper floors, here transferred to a garden wall. They give the eye a place to rest at regular points along what would otherwise be a long blank surface.

Seeing the Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall

On a guided visit booked with the Former Kitamuro Hospital Medical Museum you can follow the Former Kitamuro Hospital Earthen Wall along both its south and east sides. The washed-aggregate base and the barred openings are concentrated on the south side, so start at the folded entrance and trace the wall to either side. How much can be seen from outside the grounds depends on the surroundings, so the museum tour is the reliable way to see it.

Part of the wall collapsed in March 2021 and has since been repaired. Booking and transport details are on the Former Kitamuro Hospital page.