JapanHomes025 ARRANGEMENT OF SQUARE TILES ON SIDE OF A HOUSE

''Namako'' wall or ''Namako-kabe'' (sometimes misspelled as ''Nameko'') is a Japanese wall design widely used for

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

houses, particularly on fireproof storehouses by the latter half of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. The ''namako'' wall is distinguished by a white grid pattern on black

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

. Geographically, it was most prominent in parts of western Japan, notably the

San'in region The is an area in the southwest of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the northern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Sea of Japan. Etymology The name San'in in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The ...

and

San'yō region The San'yō Region (山陽地方 ''San'yō-chihō'') is an area in the south of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the southern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea ...

and, from the 19th century, further east, in the

Izu Peninsula The is a large mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture. The peninsul ...

Origin

As the base of the external walls of earthen ''kura'' storehouses is vulnerable to physical damage and damage from rain, they are often tiled to protect them. The exaggerated white clay joints that are a few centimetres wide and rounded on top remind people of ''namako''

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothuria ...

Modern uses

During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868–1912), when Japan imported many Western ideas, the ''namako'' wall was used in a way that mimicked the "bricks and mortar" style of these countries. For example, Kisuke Shimizu's Tsukiji Hotel for foreigners in

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous a ...

(completed in 1868) had ''namako'' walls that stretched from the ground to the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

.Stewart (2002), p26 The

Misono-za The is a theatre in the city of Nagoya, central Japan. It was originally constructed in 1800s and presents ''kabuki'' and Western stage plays. History The tradition of ''kabuki'' in Nagoya goes back to the Edo period. With the opening of ...

''kabuki'' theatre in Nagoya features a modern ''namako'' pattern on the facade. File:Namako-kabe (4003049613).jpg, Blue-grey-purple tiles, plain, in an outdoor dado File:Kura door.JPG, ''Kura'' (storehouse) in Tsuyama on the Izumo Kaido road showing diagonal ''namako'' tiling File:Tilework, Pontocho Kaburenjo Theater - Kyoto, Japan - DSC07314.jpg, Wall of the Pontochō Kaburenjō Theater in Kyoto File:Namakokabe -01.jpg, ''Namako'' wall in Matsuzaki, Shizuoka File:三田演説館-慶應三田.jpg, Keio Gijyuku ''Enzetsu kan'' (Speech hall)

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

{{Japanese architectural elements Architectural elements Architecture in Japan Types of wall

Origin

Modern uses

See also

Footnotes

References

External links