12Wall

This shows the structure of the walls. The white walls seen in various places such as in rooms and corridors are plastered by hand following an 11-step process. First, vertically split bamboo and unsplit round bamboo pieces are locked together by straw ropes into a lattice-like structure that serves as the lathing of the wall. Next, mud mixed with straw and allowed to rot is daubed onto this structure; this process is called arakabenuri, or scratch coating. Then, after nakanuri, where earth and sand are coated onto the scratch coat, and a few other processes, the foundation of the wall is complete. Finally, plaster made of crushed shells is used for processes such as sand finishing and topcoating, and the result is a strong and beautiful white wall.