Jizoji Temple Hojuin West Wall

A White Earthen Wall 3.6 Metres High

Jizoji Temple Hojuin West Wall (地蔵寺寳珠院西塀, Jizōji Hōjuin Nishibei) is a tile-capped earthen wall built in the Taisho era (1912 to 1926) in Matsushima-cho, Komatsushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 29 November 2016. It closes the west side of the Hojuin residence owned by Jizoji Temple.

It runs 25 metres and stands 3.6 metres high. The north end meets the southwest corner of the storehouse and the south end meets the front wall, so it seals the west edge of the lot from end to end.

The wall is built in two tiers. Up to the height of the front wall, the lower part is faced with vertical boards; above that it is rendered in white Shikkui plaster and topped with a small pan-tiled (Sangawara-buki) roof. Because the board facing lines up with the front wall, the datum carries on unbroken as you turn the corner from the south side to the west.

A Wall That Shapes the Street

The Jizoji Temple Hojuin West Wall was registered for "contributing to the historic landscape of the country." The official description says its long white plastered face helps form the look of the neighborhood.

At 25 metres, the wall presents the longest and tallest surface of any Hojuin property to the town. With the house and outbuildings hidden inside, this white face is what passers-by see of the residence.

The storehouse at its north end dates from 1903; the wall came later, in the Taisho era. Attaching it to the corner of the existing storehouse and joining it to the front wall seems to have completed the enclosure around the west and south of the property.

What to Look For

Notice the height of the line where the board facing gives way to white plaster: it is set to match the front wall on the south. At the north end, look at how the white wall runs into the corner of the storehouse and stops.

Plaster changes with the light. The wall faces west, so it looks its whitest in the afternoon sun.

Seeing the West Wall

The Jizoji Temple Hojuin West Wall faces outward and can be seen from the road. Behind it is a private, temple-owned residence with no scheduled openings.

Photograph from the street without blocking traffic or intruding on neighboring homes.