The discovery of using seaweed as water retention agent and usage of plant fibers to reinforce Shikkui brought a boom in castle construction throughout the 16th century, during Sengoku period in Japan, when the country was in its civil war period for several decades. Shikkui as a finish coat provided a durable plaster coating of the castle walls, which was critical in times of wars, and protected the walls from rain erosion.

With the growth of population and the spread of wooden housing highly concentrated in Edo (now Tokyo) region, the cases of fire spreading quickly from building to building became very frequent. The infamous Great fire of Meireki  destroyed 60-70% of the Japanese capital and killed over 100,000 people. As a result, the the Tokugawa Shogunate allowed Shikkui as finish layer to protect buildings from fire for everyone, not just the nobles. Since that moment, Shikkui started to spread all across Japan for both residential housing and commercial construction, especially merchant warehouses had thicker layer of Shikkui to protect the commodities from fire damage. 

During the Meiji period in the 19th century and the reforms in the social structures it brought, Shikkui finishes were also used on western brick constructions in modern design, remaining the main finish coatings once again. Many cultural buildings during that period, which are now classified as national and world heritage, were also mostly finished with Shikkui.

Tagawa Sangyo launched the very first premixed commercial Shikkui lime plaster in Japan called Shirokabe. Shirokabe is still the best-selling traditional Shikkui product in Japan. 

Development of modern Shikkui finishes, including decorative artisan products, sprayable and roller-applied paint-type Shikkui, highly humidity-regulating finishes, DIY Shikkui finishes.