In the final stretch of this long series on minka layouts, we enter the realm of minka with ‘multi-room’ (which I would loosely define as more than six rooms) layouts. Such minka are of course generally larger and more complex than the one- to six-room layouts we have covered up to this point, and, representing as they do the final stages of minka development, usually date to the later years of the Edo period (1603 - 1868) or the Meiji period (1869 - 1912). Unsurprisingly, given that they were typically occupied by farmers or merchants of higher socio-economic status, these dwellings also tend to be better-appointed than smaller minka. This positive correlation between the scale of a building and its level of quality or detail used to be universal, almost a kind of natural law, but it does not hold today, when very large houses are often built to the same low standard as more regular-sized dwellings.
These complex, sprawling multi-room minka layouts can be difficult to categorise, but usually a simpler layout, conforming to one of the simpler ‘base’ layout types discussed previously in this series, can be identified at the core of the dwelling, with the other, perimeter rooms interpretable as additions over time.
In the Hokuriku region (Hokuriku chihо̄ 北陸地方) prefectures of Ishiyama and Toyama, there is a ‘wrapped-hiroma’ type (tori-maki hiroma-gata 取巻き広間型) layout where the central room, around which the rest of the dwelling is wrapped, is called the cha-no-ma (ちゃのま, lit. ‘tea room’). Despite the ‘hiroma-type’ designation, in these dwellings this room is actually a formal zashiki rather than the everyday living room usually implied by the name hiroma. Minka on the Noto Peninsula (Noto Hantо̄ 能登半島) of Ishiyama Prefecture, represented here by the Herimushiro family (Herimushiro-ke 縁莚家) house shown below, very unambiguously belong to this layout type: the cha-no-ma dominates, and the other rooms are clearly subordinate.
Plan of the the Herimushiro family (Herimushiro-ke 縁莚家) house, from the Noto region (Noto chihо̄ 能登地方) of Ishikawa Prefecture, a wrapped-hiroma type (取巻き広間型) layout minka with an о̄ma-zukuri (大間造り) structure, though rather than six stout posts around the cha-no-ma there are ten posts of more regular size. Labelled are the earth-floored utility area (niwa にわ), kitchen (naka-shimoto なかしもと), living-dining room (daidoko だいどこ) with firepit (ro ろ), step platform (inba いんば), main formal room (cha-no-ma ちゃのま) with firepit, servery (ryо̄-no-ma りょうのま), ‘lower room’ (shimo-no-ma しものま), ‘middle room’ (naka-no-ma なかのま), formal room (zashikiざしき) with decorative alcove (toko とこ), Buddhist room and alcove (both butsuma ぶつま, alcove marked 卍), ‘small zashiki’ (ko-zashiki こざしき), and bedroom (nando なんど).
Interior view of the cha-no-ma of the Herimushiro house. There is no ceiling, making visible the beam assembly of the о̄ma-zukuri (大間造り) structural system. A large hi-dana (火棚, lit. ‘fire shelf’), suspended by ropes from the roof beams, hangs over the central firepit (irori 囲炉裏) cut into the board floor.
This minka, like the Herimushiro house, is from the Noto region (能登地方), and is also a wrapped-hiroma type (取巻き広間型) layout, but with its single ken (1.81m) width ryо̄ri-no-ma (りょうりのま) and dei (でい) rooms, its layout is closer than the Herimushiro house to a middle-zashiki type (naka-zashiki-gata 中座敷型) layout. The house is centred on and dominated by the formal cha-no-ma (ちゃのま), with the other rooms arranged such that they wrap around it. The six stout posts around the perimeter of the cha-no-ma, together with the unseen beam assembly they support, indicate that this minka is built in the structural style known in the Hokuriku region (Hokurikuchihо̄ 北陸) as О̄ma-zukuri (大間造り). Labelled are the earth-floored utility area consisting of the niwa (にわ) with storage (shūnо̄ 収納) closet, bath (nyūyoku 入浴), and urinal (shо̄ben 小便), for agricultural work (nо̄-sagyо̄ 濃作業) and food preparation (shokuryо̄ chо̄sei 食糧調整); and the kitchen (nagashimoto ながしもと) with stoves, sink, and water (mizu 水), for cooking (chо̄ri 調理); the living-dining room (daidoko だいどこ), with firepit (irori, marked ro 炉), for dining (shokuji 食事), family time (danran 団らん), and handwork (te-shigoto 手仕事); a kind of ‘servery’ (ryо̄ri-no-ma りょうりのま) for tableware storage (shokki no kakunou 食器の格納), and food service (haizen 配膳) and preparation (junbi 準備) activities accompanying ceremonies (gyо̄ji ni tomonau 行事に伴う); the cha-no-ma (ちゃのま) for ceremonies (gyо̄ji 行事) and receiving guests (sekkyaku 接客); the front dei (でい) for handwork and entertaining (о̄tai 応対); the zashiki (ざしき) with decorative alcove (toko とこ) and Buddhist alcove (butsuma, marked manji 卍), for sleeping (shūshin 就寝), receiving guests, and religious activities (shinkо̄ 信仰); the bedroom (nando なんど) for sleeping and storage of family possessions (kazaishūnо̄ 家財収納); and the rear bedroom (oku-no-ma おくのま), the sleeping place of the husband and wife (fūfushūshin夫婦就寝). The ‘verandah’ (engawa) has light-admitting (saikо̄ 採光) rain shutters (amado 雨戸).
In contrast, in the minka of the Tonami (砺波) region of western Toyama Prefecture, the rooms surrounding the hiroma are large, not much different to the hiroma in size, and the dwellings do not have strong hiroma-type characteristics; the Kawabe family (Kawabe-ke 川辺家) residence in Toyama Prefecture, whose plan is shown below, is representative.
Regardless of these differences, both minka types go by the name о̄ma-zukuri (大間造り, lit. ‘big room construction’) in these areas, a name derived rather from their shared structural system, the principal element of which consists of six stout inner posts (jо̄ya-bashira 上屋柱) erected around the perimeter of the hiroma, and on these a beam assembly that is in either a cruciform (jūji-gata 十字形) or a double-layer (ni-jū 二重) ‘well beam’ (i-geta 井桁, four beams arranged in the shape of the character i 井, ‘well’) configuration; this method of construction is called waku-no-uchi zukuri (枠の内造り), lit. ‘frame inner construction’) and was covered in a post in our previous series on minka structure.
Additionally, a sumptuary law in effect in the Tonami region under the hansei (藩政) system of administration in the Edo-period, when Japan was organised into domains (藩 han), restricted the maximum transverse beam span (harima 梁間, effectively the width of the building) to ni-ken-manaka (二間まなか, lit. ‘two and a half ken’, around five metres). As a result, many minka in this area have a characteristic roof form where the thatched ‘main house’ (hon-ya 本屋) roof ends at the rear boundary of the hiroma, and rearward of this line is a tiled or board-clad lean-to or awning roof (fuki-kudashi 葺き下し). This type is variously called kake-oroshi (掛け下し, lit. ‘hang down’) for its form, or fuki-kawaze (葺き交ぜ, lit. ‘cladding change’) for its mixing of roof cladding materials. The layout, structural system, and roof form all combine to give these minka a strong regional character.
Plan of the Kawabe house in Toyama Prefecture. Labelled are the formal entry (genkan げんかん and niwa にわ) leading to a ‘hall’ (hashi はし); an earth-floored storage area (mono-oki ものおき), the ‘lower cha-no-ma’ (しもちゃのま), likely the everyday living-dining room, with firepit (ro 炉) and storage for (fire)wood (ki木); the kitchen-dining room (daidoko だいどこ); the ‘upper cha-no-ma’ (kami-chanoma かみちゃのま); the ‘middle room’ (naka-no-ma なかのま), perhaps a bedroom; a bedroom (heya へや) with decorative alcove (toko とこ); an ‘anteroom’ (hikae-no-ma ひかえのま) with toko; the ‘upper zashiki’ (kami-zashiki かみざしき) with toko and Buddhist alcove (卍); the ‘mouth zashiki’ (kuchi-zashiki くちざしき); the saya-no-ma (さやのま, perhaps lit. ‘scabbard room’); and the central hiroma (ひろま).
Exterior facade view of the Kawabe house in Toyama Prefecture. The white-plastered corner walls are the external walls of the urinal and toilet, seen in the bottom right of the plan above; the dark area to the left of this is the exterior genkan, the formal entry to the dwelling. The steeply pitched, thatched roof covers only the hiroma (ひろま), the hashi (はし), the niwa (にわ) and mono-oki (ものおき), the front corner of the shimo-chanoma (しもちゃのま), the rear half of the kuchi-zashiki (くちざしき), and the front half of the kami-zashiki (かみざしき); all the other parts of the interior are covered by shallower, tiled awning/lean-to roofs coming off the main roof. This style is unique to the region and is called fuki-kawaze (葺き交ぜ, lit. ‘cladding exchange’).