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

Hagi Castle - Bukeyashiki Walls

武家屋敷の土塀

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! These walls also protected these delicate citrus trees from strong coastal winds, created a post feudal era income for the samurai of Hagi. Refer to the article Hagi Castle Town for more details.

Some features of thephotos 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 wall 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 with the nagayamon of the Kuchiba as a defensive position, another technique employed in castle town design.

Hisako Kaimagari Similar to the Horiuchi Kaimagari this one is 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.