The shrine adjoining my house has a retaining wall which encroaches a bit on the lane. The city and the shrine have gone back and forth regarding what to do about this. Cleverly, the shrine is doubling down by building a very fancy wall atop the concrete retaining wall. It is being built using a traditional method with a wood-paneled base and a white stucco upper part, as shown in the photo. I’ve tried to find the Japanese expression for this type of construction but to no avail. If anyone knows, please inform us. However, I did find the kanji for stucco - 漆喰 (shikkui), so it was not all for naught. - William