Keywords
Architecture
Gardens
A type of formal fence associated with the walls surrounding nobles' homes and tearooms *sukiya 数寄屋. It is also called tokusabei because the fence resembles the tokusa 木賊, a kind of fern with jointed cylindrical stalks which grows from an underground root stalk.
The fence is made of thick, split bamboo lined up on copper nails between the sill and a top board. The stalks are arranged so that the joints are uneven, creating a rich surface pattern.