The North Gate and the Tsuijibei Wall
The North Gate functions as the main entrance to Jisonin Temple. The kaerumata (frog-leg) struts and the cut of the beams’ corners indicate that this gate was built during the Muromachi period (1392–1573). This four-pillared gate, one of the largest of its kind in Wakayama Prefecture, is a designated Prefectural Cultural Property.
The wall on both sides of the gate was built using an ancient technique called tsuijibei, where mud and clay are piled up and compressed between boards, carefully layered up to the desired height. The wall is 100 meters long, about 3 meters high and just under 1.6 meters thick at the bottom. The compressed material is quite strong, and the wall has weathered a number of major earthquakes over the centuries with minimal damage.
While the tsuijibei building technique came to Japan from China during the Heian period (794–1185), this wall was most likely constructed in the 1540s. It is a designated Tangible Cultural Property, and one of only a few examples left in Japan.