Engawa

An engawa (縁側/掾側) or en (縁) is an edging strip of non-tatami-matted flooring in Japanese architecture, usually wood or bamboo.

Usually, the en is outside the translucent paper shōji, but inside the amado (雨戸) storm shutters (when they are not packed away).

En that cannot be enclosed by amado, or sufficiently sheltered by eaves, must be finished to withstand the Japanese climate.

An engawa allows the building to remain open in the rain or sun, without getting too wet or hot, and allows flexible ventilation and sightlines.

This was surrounded by the hisashi (廂,庇), which was on the same level, and was usually inside the windows and shitomi storm shutters.

In Shoin-style buildings, the positioning of the engawa varied more, and the storm shutters slid rather than being hinged (usually horizontally).

A Meiji era engawa bearing a resemblance to a veranda , with people for scale. Note the slope of the ground under the engawa , and the traditional stone step.
Engawa , with sliding glass doors outside, and yukimi shōji ( shōji with both paper and glass panes) inside. The solid wood amado leaning up against the corner is a storm shutter, and is usually stored away.
A temple in Kyoto with, from top to bottom, hiro-en , ochi-en , and nure'en . Note that part of the hiro-en is enclosed. Drainage provision is obvious.