10:45 AM - 12:15 PM
[MZZ42-P01] On the stone walls of Sotodomari, Ainan town, Ehime prefecture
Keywords:stone wall, cultural heritage, sandstone, natural rock, Shimanto belt
The stone wall village “Sotodomari” is situated on the northern slope of Nishiumi peninsula, Ainan town, Ehime prefecture, Shikoku, Japan. The village was cultivated in the end of the Edo era due to the increase of population of neighbouring village. The material of stone walls is derived from the basement rocks, coarse to gritty sandstone of the Shimanto belt. The sandstone is hardened well, it cannot be broken with hammer easily. An outcrop of this sandstone develops joints, which are distributed in a distance between 10 and 34 cm. This interval controls sizes of rock materials constructing stone walls.
Mr. Yoshida, the owner of an inn at Sotodomari, restored a broken stone wall in the village with two colleagues, when I visited on a day in February 2023. I have observed his restoration to understand the stone wall structure, not easily collapsed. Rock materials are not cut in a same size, but variable sizes of natural one. Mr. Yoshida chooses an appropriate size rock to insert onto a site of wall. If the chosen rock is not stable on a site, he rotates the rock until getting stability on a site. Smaller sized rocks are thrown into gaps between main bigger rocks of stone wall to stabilise the wall.
The Sotodomari stone wall village is now recognised as its historical and cultural values. Not only the geological background of good consolidated sandstone contributes to preservation of stone wall, but also today’s efforts of villagers like Mr. Yoshida maintain the stone wall heritage that predecessors of the village gave us with their hard works during cultivation to live on the severe ground.
Mr. Yoshida, the owner of an inn at Sotodomari, restored a broken stone wall in the village with two colleagues, when I visited on a day in February 2023. I have observed his restoration to understand the stone wall structure, not easily collapsed. Rock materials are not cut in a same size, but variable sizes of natural one. Mr. Yoshida chooses an appropriate size rock to insert onto a site of wall. If the chosen rock is not stable on a site, he rotates the rock until getting stability on a site. Smaller sized rocks are thrown into gaps between main bigger rocks of stone wall to stabilise the wall.
The Sotodomari stone wall village is now recognised as its historical and cultural values. Not only the geological background of good consolidated sandstone contributes to preservation of stone wall, but also today’s efforts of villagers like Mr. Yoshida maintain the stone wall heritage that predecessors of the village gave us with their hard works during cultivation to live on the severe ground.