File:JapanHomes099 PLAN OF A PORTION OF A DAIMIO'S RESIDENCE.jpg

English: From original book: "The differences between the houses of the nobles and the samurai are quite as great as the differences between these latter houses and the rude shelters of the peasant class. The differences between the interior finish of the houses of the first two mentioned classes are perhaps not so marked, as in both cases clean wood-work, simplicity of style, and purity of finish are aimed at; but the house of the noble is marked by a grander entrance, a far greater extent of rooms and passages, and a modification in the arrangement of certain rooms and passages not seen in the ordinary house.

The accompanying plan of a Daimio's house (fig. 99) is from a drawing made by Mr. Miyasaki, a student in the Kaikoshia, a private school of architecture in Tokio, and exhibited with other plans at the late International Health and Education Exhibition held in London. Through the kindness of Mr. S. Tejima the Japanese commissioner, I have been enabled to examine and study these plans.

The punctilious way in which guests or official callers were received by the Daimio is indicated by a curious modification of the floor of one of a suite of rooms, which is raised a few inches above the level of the other floors, forming a sort of dais. These rooms are bordered by a sort of passage-way, or intermediate portion, called the iri-kawa, which comes between the room and the verandah. To be more explicit: within the boundary of the principal guest-room there appears to be a suite of smaller rooms marked off by shōji; one of these rooms called the ge-dan has its floor on a level with the other floors of the house. The other room, called the jō-dan, has its floor raised to a height of three or four inches above that of the ge-dan, its boundary or border being marked by a polished plank forming a frame, so to speak, for the mats. On that side of the jō-dan away from the ge-dan are the tokonoma and chigai-dana. On entering such a room from the verandah one passes through the usual shōji, and then across a matted area called the irikawa, the width of one mat or more; here he comes to another line of sliding screens, which open into the apartments' just described. When the Daimio receives the calls from those who come to congratulate him on New Year's day, and other important occasions, he sits in great dignity in the jō-dan; his chief minister and other attendants occupy the iri-kawa, while the visitors enter the ge-dan, and there make their obeisance to the Worshipful Daimio Sama. In the same plan there is another suite of rooms called the kami-noma and tsugi-noma surrounded by iri-kawa, probably used for similar purposes.

In this plan the close parallel lines indicate the verandahs; the thick lines, permanent partitions; and the small black squares, the upright posts. The lines of shōji and fusuma are shown by the thin lines, which with the thick lines represent the boundaries of the rooms, passage-ways, etc...

Footnote: The following is a brief explanation of the names of the rooms given in plan fig. 99: Agari-ba (Agari, "to go up;" ba, "place"), Platform, or place to stand on in coming out of the Bath. Cha-dokoro, Tea-place; Ge-dan, Lower Step; Jo-dan, Upper Step; Iri-kawa, Space between verandah and room; Kami-no-ma, Upper place or room; Tsugi-no-ma, Next place or room; Kesho-no-ma, Dressing-room (Kesho, — "adorning the face with powder"). Nan-do, Store-room; Naka-tsubo, Middle space; Oshi-ire, Closet (literally, "push," "put in"); Ro-ka, Corridor, Covered way; Tamari, Ante-chamber; Tsume-sho, Waiting-room for Servants; Yu-dono, Bath-room; Yenzashiki, End parlor; Watari, — "to cross over;" Sunoko. Bamboo shelf or platform. "