About the Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall (東門脇家住宅西面土塀, Higashi-Kadowaki-ke Jūtaku Nishimen Dobei) is a tile-roofed earthen wall about 29 meters long, built in the Taisho period (1912 to 1925) in Tokorogo, Daisen Town, Tottori Prefecture, and entered on Japan's register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 8, 2004. Partway along it has a built-in washing place beside a water channel.
The wall runs along the west edge of the Higashikadowaki estate, from the storehouse at the southwest corner north to the former miso storehouse. Just outside it, a water channel flows beside the Bōryō road, and the wall follows the channel, bending where the street bends.
A Raised Roof Over the Washing Place
The feature that sets the Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall apart is a 3-ken stretch in the middle where the roof is lifted a step higher, with a washing place beneath it. Raising the roof lets people pass through without stooping and gives the household access to the channel water from inside the grounds.
Locally, Tokorogo's channels are also called tsukaigawa, and washing places are dotted along them. According to Daisen Town's walking map, before piped water arrived people drank well water and rinsed soil off vegetables at the channel's washing places. The washing place built into this wall folds that everyday use of water into the boundary of the estate.
A Stone Base and a Timber-Framed Wall
The Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall rises from a carefully laid stone foundation. For a wall standing right on a watercourse, a stone base is what keeps damp out of the clay. Above it, the wall shows its timber posts, its lower half is sheathed in Shitami-itabari clapboard, and it is capped with a Sangawara-buki pan-tile roof.
Stone at the bottom, boards at the waist, white wall, then tiles: the same sequence of materials appears on the estate's storehouses. Because the wall bends with the street, the line of its roof shifts angle a little as you walk along it.
Why the West Earthen Wall Was Registered
The Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with giving the imposing estate a well-ordered street front.
From the Bōryō road, the Higashikadowaki estate shows itself first as this wall and the channel beside it. If the south road is the estate's formal front, with its gate, storehouse and barn, the Bōryō road side is the domestic face, shaped by water and wall.
Seeing the Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall
The Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall faces the Bōryō road and can be seen in full from it. Starting at the storehouse on the southwest corner and walking north, you reach the stretch where the roof steps up over the washing place. Looking across the channel at the stone base and the washing place shows how wall and watercourse were built as one.
The estate is a private home that is not open to the public. The washing place is private too, so do not climb down to the channel or peer over the wall. No official guidance on photography could be found as of September 2026.
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Q&A
- How long is the Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall?
- About 29 meters. It bends with the street as it encloses the west side of the estate.
- What is the washing place in the Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall?
- A 3-ken section where the wall's roof is raised a step, with a place beneath it for using water from the channel.
- How is the Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall built?
- It is a timber-framed earthen wall on a finely laid stone base, with clapboard on its lower half and a pan-tile roof.
- When was the Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall built?
- In the Taisho period (1912 to 1925). It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2004.
- Where can I see the Higashikadowaki West Earthen Wall?
- From the Bōryō road on the west side of the estate. The channel and washing place are private, so please do not go down to them.
Basic Information
| Name | Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall (東門脇家住宅西面土塀) |
|---|---|
| Location | 425 Tokorogo, Daisen-cho, Saihaku-gun, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 2004 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | 29 m long, with washing place (earthen wall, tile roof) |
| Owner | Not disclosed |
| Public Access | Not open (exterior visible from the Bōryō road) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004406
- Cultural Heritage Online: Higashikadowaki Family Residence West Earthen Wall
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/180626
- Daisen Town: Tokorogo walking map (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/user/filer_public/ba/c4/bac418d0-931e-4930-b696-b2f5b865b94f/denken-tiku-panfu.pdf
- Daisen Town: Daisen-cho Tokorogo Preservation District (Japanese)
- https://www.daisen.jp/10/33/2/1/
Last verified: 2026.09.29
