dobei 土塀

Also read tsuchibei. Also called *tsuiji 築地. An earthen wall or parapet that usually has a plastered and tiled roof, standing atop a stone-faced embankment. In the middle ages, slat board fences, *itabei 板塀, adequately served as barricades. After the introduction of firearms, earthen walls gained favor, notably earthen walls with surfaces coated with hard plaster. A tiled gabled roof gave walls, parapets, towers or *yagura 櫓, and the keep or *tenshu 天守, a greatly enhanced aesthetic appearance and became the chief characteristic of early modern castles. The term for clay walls, *neribei 練塀, was used when clay was the primary building material instead of dirt.