Namako wall

[1] The namako wall is distinguished by a white grid pattern on black slate.

The exaggerated white clay joints that are a few centimetres wide and rounded on top remind people of namako sea cucumber.

[2] During the Meiji period (1868–1912), when Japan imported many Western ideas, the namako wall was used in a way that mimicked the "bricks and mortar" style of these countries.

For example, Kisuke Shimizu's Tsukiji Hotel for foreigners in Tokyo Bay (completed in 1868) had namako walls that stretched from the ground to the eaves.

[3] The Misono-za kabuki theatre in Nagoya features a modern namako pattern on the facade.

Diagram showing square tiles, on the diagonal, nailed at all four corners and grouted in mounds over the joins and nails.