An Illustrated Japan / Tokushima / Townscape & Scenery
Also written: うだつの町並み · 卯建街景
A historic streetscape in Waki-machi, Mima City lined with traditional Edo-period merchant houses notable for their decorative 'udatsu' parapets; visitors can stroll the preserved street and enjoy the atmosphere of old Japan.
Udatsu Townscape in Waki-machi, Mima City, is a nationally designated Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, 430 m of Edo to early Showa merchant houses along the south bank of the Yoshino River. The area prospered as a collection and shipping hub for Awa indigo, with river and land transport wealth. The townhouses exhibit udatsu, a small roofed fire wall between houses decorated with plaster relief, or kote-e, whose costly construction became a symbol of wealth, giving birth to the phrase 'udatsu ga agaranai,' not getting ahead. Two-story udatsu is seen in nearby Sadamitsu. After the decline of.
