Japanese Architecture

Living in machiya
TOSHIDA Kojiro
Owner-operator of the Mumei Kiln, Kyoto Life Arts Center

Kyo machiya is a traditional form of townhouse found mainly in Kyoto. It changes its expression and atmosphere wiht the seasons, and its beauty is attributed to the appropriacy of the building materials carefully selected to meet the humble living standard of the owner, the workmanship of experienced builders, and the unique column spacing called kyoma. In a kyo machiya, structural supports are harmoniously blended with the "furniture"or"fittings"of Kyoto.

Omoteya-zukuri (Front of house)

My house is an omoteya-zukuri structure built in 1909. The structure is made up of a shop that faces the street to the east, a residence, and a patio that separates them. The two buildings are connected by an entrance hall structure that projects to the south. Beyond the residential building are a backyard and two storehouses. On the south side of the compound is a connecting yard, an earthen floor connecting the front to the back and serving as the main indoor corridor. The kitchen of the residential building is located in this connecting yard. This type of kitchen, called a hashiri moto, is open, wellhole-style, up to the roof.True to the spirit of daily activities using water and fire, the kitchen space has a skeleton structure of main pillar, girders, and beams. This laconicism is vigorous and beautiful.

The tori-niwa, a kind of passeage or corridor, for both people and goods, seen here passing through the kitchen and leading to the front entrance.

Courtyard and inner court
Many machiya (craftsmen's house) in Kyoto are long, narrow buildings, averaging about 5.4 meters wide and about 20 meters deep. They are popularly called "eels' beds." The courtyards and backyards provide ventilation and lighting, and are usually planted with pine trees, Japanese laurels, camellias, and nandins. Appreciating seasonal flowers and visits by birds, the residents commune with nature and obtain spiritual relief from it.

Kyoto merchants respect ISHIDA Baigan and his doctrine of shingaku, or Heart Learning, receiving from this doctrine inspiration and spiritual nourishment as they conduct themselves in commerce. Kyoto machiya, which serve as offices and workplaces as well as residences, are also based on his doctrine, on display in a kannin no kiframe in the shop. I was born in 1937 the second son of the couple who ran the cloth wholesale business at this house. The 8 tatami room facing the patio, which is my mother's room, is where I was born. In the room the light filtering through a shoji sliding screen glitters gently on the gold dust used in the paint of a fusuma papered sliding door. Beyond the fusuma is a 10 tatami room facing the backyard. It is my father's room, into whici he invites only very good friends. These two rooms are charecterized by a shady kind of light, which is very heatwarming.