Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:37, 18 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 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, fetching premium prices. 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.

The walls that once served to fortify and seclude samurai estates also 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 us enthusiasts to enjoy to this day.

wall repair

Kamagari 1

Kaimagari 2

'Toida Masuda Walls

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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 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 us enthusiasts to enjoy to this day.
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 '''Kamagari 1'''

Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:37, 18 February 2025

Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls

Gallery

Feature Pages