Udatsu wall

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"sleeve wall" (udatsu)　firewall

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Non-seasonal Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

udatsu 卯建 / 袖壁　/ うだつ / 梲 fire-preventing wall
sode udatsu 袖うだつ "sleeve wall"

卯立 / 宇立 - udachi, odachi, odatsu
a kind of truss post, supporting the ridge purlin.

This is a screen wall of the upper floors between town houses, to prevent a fire from reaching the next neighbour.




Some towns are famous for their beautiful udatsu, showing off the rich merchants who lived there.


Look at many photos :
source : udatsu.html

source : Mino Town

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quote
Udatsu nomachinami　うだつの街並み
Streets Featuring Udatsu

Streets featuring 'udatsu' may be seen in the town of Waki, Tokushima. The Agency of Cultural Affairs has designated these streets as Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Historic Buildings in Japan. In addition, The Ministry of Construction has selected these streets to be included among 100 (Famous) Streets of Japan and 100 (Famous) Urban Landscapes.

Udatsu are the white-plastered parts above the first floor of the houses, and were originally built to act as firewalls between each house. However, they slowly took on a more decorative function, becoming increasingly gorgeous. Eventually, roof tiles came to cover the plaster.

Fine udatsu were created for the houses of merchants around the Kansai area. The proverb 'Can’t build up the udatsu' comes from these udatsu.

To preserve these streets, the town of Waki followed national regulations for urban scenery in 1998, which led to Waki's streets being selected as the 28th Urban Landscape of Japan by The Agency of Cultural Affairs.

These streets featuring udatsu have a calm and nostalgic feel that makes you think of everyday life in Edo times.
source : nippon-kichi.jp

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. Postal Town Tsuboi 坪井宿 .
My trip along the old road of Izumo Kaido.


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quote
Udatsu is built on the edge of the roof of the house.
It shows that the family who can build Udatsu is richer than other families, because it costs a lot of money to built Udatsu on their roof.

In the Edo era, there were so many fires throughout the city. Once a fire started up, it was not easy to extinguish. Udatsu was used to solve this problem, to prevent fires from spreading, yet it takes a lot of money to build Udatsu.

Also, the word Udatsu is the source of the saying
“Udatsu ga agaranai.”
Literally meaning “unable to raise Udatsu,”
it is an expression that means someone is not active or vigorous in their life style and economic performances.

The old streets of Udatsu: the symbol of wealth and advancement of life.
source : hashtagcloud.net



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU



春風や梲の上がる町を歩く 　　　
harukaze ya udatsu no agaru machi o yuku　　

spring breeze -
walking in a town
with many firewalls 　

Sensenko 扇々子
source :　karasuyama



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Related words

***** . Wall (kabe) .


. WKD - LIST of haiku topics and Keywords 　

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