By Kyoto Women's University, Lifestyle Design Laboratory
Lifestyle Design Laboratory, Kyoto Women's University
Anouzumi stone walls
In the past there were groups of stone wall masons who worked in an area called Anou at the foot of Mount Hiei in Japan. These masons were known as anoushū and the stone walls they built by simply piling stones in their natural, unprocessed form on top of one another came to be called anouzumi. Anouzumi stone walls are extremely sturdy, as demonstrated by the fact that the anouzumi stone walls at Mount Hiei were the only structures that remained fully intact during the Siege of Mount Hiei in 1571. It is said that even Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) was amazed by the durability of the stone walls.
The anouzumi stone walls at the foot of Mount Hiei (2019) by AnoushūKyoto Women's University, Lifestyle Design Laboratory
The Awata Family
In Sakamoto (Ōtsu city, Shiga prefecture) where anouzumi originated there remains the only household in the entire Japan that continues to work using the anouzumi technique in the region. It is the Awata Family and its last heir of this traditional masonry is still making such stone walls today.
How an anouzumi stone wall is created
Preparation
Before piling the stones, markings and precise measurements are made according to the construction drawing.
Stone selection
From the many stones collected suitable stones for each part are selected. Large stones used for building stone walls are called tsuki-ishi.
Piling the stones
Each selected stone is lifted up by a crane using a wire and moved to where it is to sit. This is a step that requires careful handling.
The first stone is placed. A stone places in a corner like this is called sumi-ishi and it is vital in the entire structure, so much so that it is said that “one only becomes a proper stone wall mason after one is able to lay this corner stone.”
Finer adjustment of placement is done by hand using masonry tools. The Awata Family has a saying: “Listen to the stone and put it where it wishes to be.” Just like this saying, the stones are each placed where they are meant to be through trial and error. After a stone is placed it may be replaced again with a different one. At times it can take over an hour just to determine the right stone in the right place.
After the stones have been piled into an outlining formation, small stones called guri-ishi are then used to fill the inside. Doing so facilitated draining which can help prevent the wall from collapsing. While the stone wall shown here sits over a concrete base, when building castles stone walls, the walls are actually constructed on a earthen base, over which guri-ishi stones are first laid.
Interfilling
The gaps between the stones are filled using small stones like pieces of a puzzle. It may seem easy enough at first glance but doing it properly can make a difference of 5 or 10 years of durability.
The backside is also tightly filled with kaiseki stones and these are placed horizontally and leveled. This allows the kaiseki stones to evenly distribute weight, thus resulting in a durable and sturdy stone wall.
Stone processing
As stone processing techniques today have greatly developed since ancient times, stone processing is also done in anauzumi stone wall building. A chisel (nomi) is used to chip off the stone bit by bit until the desired shape is acquired. However, for the anauzumi stone wall building technique where natural stones are piled on top of another (nozurazumi), the stones are not extensively processed, only enough to make use of the stone’s natural attributes.
Stone wall masons take their time to repeat all these steps as they pile the stones. The stone wall shown took 3 days to complete and its imposing presence is the result of large stones and stones of various shapes used.
Passing down the tradition
Today, the 15th head of the Awata Family is proactively working to promote the craft, such as by holding seminars all over Japan and even introducing it overseas. It is due to this passion of the Awata Family to pass their traditional craft to posterity that we still see this craft alive today.
Supported by: Awata Construction, Inc.
Photography by: Sayako Yamauchi
Text by: Sayako Yamauchi
Translation by: Eddy Y.L. Chang
This exhibition was created by: Sayako Yamauchi
Project Directors:
Dr. Shinya Maezaki, Associate Professor, Kyoto Women's University
