So far in this series of posts on three-room layouts (san-madori 三間取り) in minka we have covered front doma type (mae-doma-gata 前土間型), hiroma type (hiroma-gata 広間型) and central post type (naka-bashira-shiki 中柱式) layouts. Here we will add one more to the list: the ‘front zashiki’ type (mae-zashiki-gata 前座敷) three-room layout. In this type, two rooms adjoin the earth-floored utility area (doma土間): a ‘living-dining-kitchen’ room at the rear, and the formal room or zashiki at the front (mae 前), or facade, side of the building; the zashiki runs the full length of the raised-floor part of the minka. ‘Up’ from the LDK, in the rear corner, is the bedroom.
In the Kinki region, the regular four-room layout (seikei yon-madori 整形四間取り) had become the most universal type by the ‘modern’ era, but there are (or were) no small number remaining of its predecessor, the front zashiki three-room layout (mae-zashiki-gata san-madori 前座敷型三間取り), which might be regarded as the prototype of the regular four-room layout in this region. The plan shown below is a famous example: the restored Furui House (Furui-ke 古井家) in Nishi Harima (西播磨), Hyogo Prefecture, which was recognised even long ago as a very old house (sen-nen-ya 千年家, lit. ‘thousand year house’), though survey results indicate that the present building was constructed in the late Muromachi period (Muromachi jidai 室町時代, 1336 - 1573), i.e. around the mid-sixteenth century. In any case, as one of the oldest surviving minka, redolent of medieval Japan, it has been designated a nationally-important cultural property.
The Furui House (Furui-ke 古井家) in Hyogo Prefecture, a front zashiki three-room layout (mae-zashiki-gata san-madori 前座敷三間取り) minka. The earth-floored utility area (the doma 土間 or niwa にわ, unlabelled) is for food storage (shokuruо̄ chozо̄ 食糧貯蔵), food preparation (tabemono chо̄sei 食物調整), meal preparation (shokuji chо̄sei 食事調整), agricultural work (nо̄-sagyо̄ 濃作業), and feed preparation (shiryо̄ chо̄sei 飼料調整), and contains the stove (kamado かまど), mortar (kara-usu からうす), water (mizu 水), sink (nagashi ナガシ), shelves (tana タナ), entry doma (iriguchi doma 入口土間), and bath (nyūyoku 入浴), with external ‘kindling entry’ (taki-guchi 焚き口), urinal (shо̄ben 小便), and fuel (probably firewood) storage (nenryо̄ chozо̄ 燃料貯蔵); the stable (maya まや) for raising livestock (kachiku shi-iku 家畜飼育) and composting (taihi zо̄sei 堆肥造成); the zashiki (ざしき) for ceremonies (gyо̄ji 行事), receiving guests (sekkyaku 接客), village administration (sonsei 村政), sleeping (shūshin 就寝), and with religious room decorations (shinkо̄ heya kazari 信仰部屋飾り) and a verandah for greeting/entertaining guests (о̄tai 応対) and ‘honored guest’ entry (shо̄kyaku iriguchi 正客入口); the ‘living dining room’ (cha-no-ma ちゃのま) for dining (shokuji 食事), family time (danran 団らん), entertaining (о̄tai 応対), and handwork (te-shigoto 手仕事), with firepit (irori, marked ro 炉) and utensil shelves (jūki dana 什器棚); and the bedroom (nando なんど) for sleeping and storage of family possessions (kazai shūnо̄ 家財格納). The exterior is fully plastered (nuri-gome zukuri ぬりごめ造り).
Plans showing the path of development of the basic (kihon-gata 基本型) front zashiki three-room layout (mae-zashiki san-madori 前座敷三間取り) in the Harima (播磨) region, Hyо̄go Prefecture. First it becomes a staggered four-room layout (kui-chigai yon-madori 食違い四間取り), then a regular four-room layout (seikei yon-madori 整形四間取り). Labelled are the stable (umaya, here marked 牛), ‘living room’ or, in the three-room layout, the ‘formal room’ (omote 表), ‘kitchen dining’ room (daidoko or chanoma, marked 台), bedroom (nema or nando, marked 寝), and ‘formal room’ (zashiki, marked 座). Characteristic of the minka of this region is that both gable walls are blind (ryо̄-tsuma heisa 両妻, lit. ‘both gable closed’) and the bath and toilet are at the entrance (kado furo 門風呂, lit. ‘gate bath’ and kado benjo 門便所, lit. ‘gate toilet’).
Exterior facade-side view of the Furui house showing its fully-plastered (nuri-gome) external walls and closed gable-end walls.
The interior consists of a doma used for agricultural tasks, with part of it given over to a stable; a large living area, the zashiki, fronting the doma; and, to the rear of the zashiki, the chanoma and nando. The zashiki is board-floored; in the geya (下屋) space on the gable end (short side) there is an alcove for a Buddhist altar (butsuma 仏間), and, in place of a decorative alcove (tokonoma 床の間), a small Shintо̄ shrine (hokora 祠). In accordance with old sumptuary regulations, the nando and chanoma have a floor of thin bamboo poles lashed together (sugaki-yuka 簀掻床).
Interior view of the Furui house, looking from the niwa into the chanoma with its edge-positioned firepit (irori) and the open nando beyond.
Interior view of the Furui house, looking across the niwa to the rear entry.
The chanoma borders the doma and is open on this side. There is a firepit (irori 囲炉裏) cut into the floor up against this edge of the room, a placement that has the advantage over a more centrally-positioned irori of being convenient to the doma to allow easy transfer of food, fuel, pots etc. without having to lean into or enter (step up into) the chanoma. The disadvantage is that only three sides of the irori are available for seating, compared to four if the irori is placed ‘inland’. The nando is extremely closed off, but all partitions stop below uchi-nori height; above this height the rooms are continuous.
Interior view of the Furui house, looking from the niwa across the bamboo and mat-floored chanoma with its perimeter irori to the nando with sliding door open. The closed entry to the zashiki is on the left.
Interior view of the Furui house, looking across the zashiki towards the blind gable wall, showing scalloped floorboards and Shintо̄ shrine (hokora 祠).
Interior view of the Furui house, looking from the nando across the chanoma to the niwa.
Interior view of the Furui house, looking from the chanoma into the nando.
The building is three ken (間; the modern ken is 1.818m) in width (harima 梁間), and six ken in length (keta-yuki 桁行); the perimeter space between inner and outer posts (geya 下屋) is enclosed on all four sides and the inner posts (joya-bashira 上屋柱) are free-standing within the interior at a pitch of one ken. The timber members have a scalloped (hamaguri-ba 蛤刃) finish, and there are many other attributes that speak of the building’s age. The fully plastered (nuri-gome 塗籠 earth-walled (tsuchi-kabe 土壁) gable-end (tsuma-gawa 妻側) walls are both blind, and the toilet and bath are placed just off and to the sides of the entrance (kado-guchi (門口); these features are characteristic of the minka of this region.
Though rare, front-zashiki three-room minka can also be found among the old Yamato muna-zukuri (大和棟造り, lit. ‘Yamato ridge construction’) houses of the Yamato (大和) and Kawachi (河内) regions, in modern-day Nara and О̄saka Prefectures.