In addition to the earth-floored (doza 土座) single-space dwellings (tanshitsu-sumai 単室住まい) discussed in the last few posts, there are also single-space dwellings of the raised-floor type (taka-yuka shiki 高床式). The existence of such dwellings may seem somewhat contradictory, since the ability to construct a raised floor might also imply the technical and economic capacity to construct interior walls. But in tropical or subtropical climates, an interior unobstructed by partitions has obvious benefits for cross-ventilation, able as it is to take advantage of even the slightest breeze, and warm daytime air can be more quickly and effectively purged by cool (or at least cooler) evening air.

The minka of the Nansei Islands (Nansei Shotо̄ 南西諸島) are a good example of the type. The plan below is of a minka on Amami-О̄shima (奄美大島). The hipped-roof (yose-mune 寄棟) main building (omo-ya 主屋, or in the island dialect uiyaa ういやー) and gable-roofed (kiri-zuma 切妻) ‘cookhouse’ (kamaya 釜屋, dialect tо̄gura とうぐら) almost touch at their eaves, with a single large gutter (toi 樋) running between them, effectively forming a box gutter. The main building is single-space, with a small ‘step-in’ (fumi-komi 踏込み) entrance doma (土間) and half-mat sized closet (oshi-iri 押入) contained within a lean-to structure (sashi-kake hisashi 差掛け庇) appended to it. The interior posts might appear to be ‘in the way', but if we look at the plan from the perspective of the plan-form archetypes, it can be interpreted as consisting of a two-mat ‘front room’ (omote 表; in the island dialect umutei うむてい) and two-mat ‘bedroom’ (nema 寝間; dialect neisho ねいしょ) wrapped in a three shaku (尺; one shaku is 30.3cm, three shaku is the width of a tatami mat) wide perimeter (shūi 周囲) ‘corridor’ (shūen 周縁; dialect shuen しゅえん), though in actuality the whole of this space is laid with tatami mats and used as a single room.

Plan of a single-space *minka* on the Amami-О̄shima. Note the hipped-roof (*yose-mune* 寄棟) main building (*uiyaa* ういやー or *omoya* 母屋), the separate (*bettо̄* 別棟) gable-roofed (*kiri-zuma* 切妻) ‘cookhouse’ (*kamaya* 釜屋 or *tо̄gura* とうぐら), and the eaves gutter (*toi* 樋) joining the two, shown as two dashed lines. Labelled also are the ‘front room’ (*omote* おもて) used for receiving guests (*sekkyaku* 接客) and as a living space (*ima* 居間) and the rearward sleeping area (*neisho* ねいしょ or *shinjo* 寝所), both with *tatami* (タタミ) floors; the lean-to ‘step-in’ (*fumi-komi* 踏込み) entry *doma* and closet (*iri* 入); the cooking (*suiji* 炊事) and dining (*shokuji* 食事) space with stove (*kamado* カマド); a shelf (*tana* タナ) and areas for food (*shokuryо̄* 食糧) storage (*chozо̄* 貯蔵) and preparation (*chо̄sei* 調整) on the plank-floored perimeter ‘corridor’ area; and the location of sliding ‘doors’ (to と).

The umutei is used as a living area, to receive guests, and as a sleeping area for the family; the rearward neisho is the sleeping area for the husband and wife. The perimeter shuen around the naisho serves as a space for storing belongings, in the absence of a dedicated storage room (nando 納戸). The separate single-bay, gable-roofed tо̄gura, together with the roofed two-mat area 樋の間 (toi-no-ma, lit. ‘gutter space’) between the two buildings and under the ‘box gutter’, is the cooking (suiji 炊事) and dining (shokuji 食事) area, with the plank-floored perimeter area surrounding this space used for food storage (shokuryо̄ chozо̄ 食糧貯蔵) and preparation (chо̄sei 調整). ‘Water work’ (mizu-shigoto 水仕事) such as laundry, the bathing area (furo-ba 風呂場), and other functions were all outside, or at least not in the two main buildings. The house is small but sufficient and fulfils all the functions required of a house. A hypothetical partitioning of this plan would result in a jūretsu-shiki (縦列式) or ‘row-type’ plan-form, a subtype of the yoko-bunwari plan-form.

Photograph of the *minka* in the plan above, showing the lean-to entry *doma* and the cookhouse (*tо̄gura*) to the rear behind the main building (*uiyaa*).

The second example, shown below, is from Miyako Island (Miyako-jima 宮古島). This house consists of a two-bay square (roughly 30m2), plank-floored living area with a central post (naka-bashira 中柱) and a hipped roof, and to its west a thatched single-bay kamaya. Again, the post may seem a nuisance, but it suggests a functional division of the space into implied ‘rooms’, so that the post is not so much at the centre of a single room as it is at the intersection or boundary between multiple ‘functional zones’: the southern part is used for receiving guests and as a living area; the area adjacent to the kamaya is used for dining; the north-east corner is for sleeping, and the Buddhist altar (butsudan 仏壇) occupies the north-west. The space has a clear ‘front’ (omote 表) or ‘public’ area south of the post, and a ‘rear’ (ura 浦) or ‘inner’ area north of the post. Partitioning of the interior would result in a four-room cruciform plan, with the post at the centre of the cross in the plane of the partitions. This plan-form is called in Japanese ta-no-ji-gata (田の字型, lit. ‘rice field character form’) for its resemblance to the character for rice field (ta 田).