Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:59, 22 February 2025

Originally built to provide privacy and protection for samurai estates, the dobei earthen walls of Hagi have become the city's most iconic feature. Look at any tourist guide, and you're likely to see a weathered wall with the bright orange of natsu mikan fruit hanging from a tree branch—just like in

Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls

Originally built to provide privacy and protection for samurai estates, the dobei earthen walls of Hagi have become the city's most iconic feature. Look at any tourist guide, and you're likely to see a weathered wall with the bright orange of natsu mikan fruit hanging from a tree branch—just like in the first photo below!

Hagi stands out among Japan's former castle towns for its remarkable number of surviving walls in various stages of preservation or repair. But while these walls remain, the samurai estates they once enclosed have largely disappeared. Why do we see so many residence walls but so few actual homes?

When the Mōri clan relocated to Yamaguchi most of the high-ranking samurai followed. The great estates of these senior samurai were abandoned and the homes fell into ruin. For the lower and middle-class samurai who remained in Hagi, the loss of their stipends brought economic hardship. Enter Obata Takamasa, a former samurai, working for the local township offices. He proposed a new livelihood: cultivating natsu mikan, a large thick-skinned variety of mandarin orange that ripens in early summer. Originally they were harvested in winter when the sour juice was used for vinegar. But if you allow the fruits to ripen through spring they become much sweeter.

Obata began transforming the abandoned samurai estates into orchards and created an instant success. Since fresh fruit was scarce in early summer, Hagi’s natsu mikan became highly prized across Japan. Five mikan were worth the equivalent of 1.5 kg of rice. It was said that three productive trees per child could provide enough income for a family to live comfortably and send their children to a good school.

The walls that once served to fortify and seclude samurai estates protected the delicate citrus trees from strong coastal winds. While Hagi’s mild climate and fertile soil were ideal for fruit cultivation, the harsh sea winds could damage trees or knock fruit to the ground. As time passed, these walls were repaired and modified, not necessarily to preserve historical accuracy, but to function as windbreaks for the orchards. This is why Hagi's dobei walls appear in such a variety of shapes and styles today.

Originally built for defense, these walls ultimately safeguarded Hagi’s economic lifeline. In doing so, they inadvertently preserved the authentic atmosphere of a samurai town, making Hagi a rare historical treasure for enthusiasts to enjoy to this day.

Some features of phots below include:

Wall Restoration The second photo below shows a restored wall. The section on the left is restored in the traditional manner. A solid stone walls on the bottom with a thick earthen wall atop. The section to the right reflects walls we often see repaired to protect orchards. Atop the original stone foundation is more piled stones with only a small earthen wall atop.

Horiuchi Kaimagari A common feature of castle towns is this short dog-legged street or junction to block the line of sight for would be attackers. This one is very near the Kuchiba Residence which you can also see in the background of one photo. It actually creates a T-junction at the end of the road, another technique employed in castle town design.

Hisako Kaimagari Similar to the Horiuchi Kaimagari this one is also actually has two direction changes in the road, one around the Tsuboi Residence

Toida Masuda Walls 231.7 meters of original walls are registered Important Cultural Property. The stone wall base is 1.1m high and 1 meter thick. The white plaster section is 1.45m high and 0.8m thick.

Gallery

wall restored in different styles (left traditional style, right newer)

Horiuchi Kaimagari

Hisako Kaimagari

Toida Masuda Residence Wall

Museum Compound

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@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Originally built for defense, these walls ultimately safeguarded Hagi’s economic lifeline. In doing so, they inadvertently preserved the authentic atmosphere of a samurai town, making Hagi a rare historical treasure for enthusiasts to enjoy to this day.
+Some features of phots below include:
-'''wall repair'''
+'''Wall Restoration''' The second photo below shows a restored wall. The section on the left is restored in the traditional manner. A solid stone walls on the bottom with a thick earthen wall atop. The section to the right reflects walls we often see repaired to protect orchards. Atop the original stone foundation is more piled stones with only a small earthen wall atop.
-'''Kamagari 1'''
+'''Horiuchi Kaimagari''' A common feature of castle towns is this short dog-legged street or junction to block the line of sight for would be attackers. This one is very near the [[Kuchiba Residence]] which you can also see in the background of one photo. It actually creates a T-junction at the end of the road, another technique employed in castle town design.
-'''Kaimagari 2'''
+'''Hisako Kaimagari''' Similar to the Horiuchi Kaimagari this one is also actually has two direction changes in the road, one around the [[Tsuboi Residence]]
-'Toida Masuda Walls'''
+'''Toida Masuda Walls'''   231.7 meters of original walls are registered Important Cultural Property. The stone wall base is 1.1m high and 1 meter thick. The white plaster section is 1.45m high and 0.8m thick.
 }}

Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:59, 22 February 2025

Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls

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