Machiya

The typical Kyoto machiya is a long wooden home with narrow street frontage, stretching deep into the city block and often containing one or more small courtyard gardens, known as tsuboniwa.

[1] The front of the building traditionally served as the retail or shop space, known as mise no ma (店の間, lit.

Machiya would also feature a doma (土間) or tōriniwa (通り庭), an unfloored earthen service space that contained the kitchen, also serving as the passage to the rear of the plot, where storehouses known as kura (倉/蔵) would be found.

The design of a machiya was also well-suited for the climate of Kyoto; with cold winters and often exceedingly-hot, humid summers, multiple layers of sliding doors (fusuma and shōji) could be added or removed to moderate the temperature inside; closing all the screens in the winter would offer some protection from the cold, while opening them all in the summer offered some respite from the heat and humidity.

Silk or thread shops, rice sellers, okiya (geisha houses), and liquor stores, among others, each had their own distinctive style of latticework.

[9] Normally unpainted, the kōshi of hanamachi (geisha and oiran communities) were frequently painted in bengara (紅殻), a vermillion or red ochre color.

The façade of the second story of a machiya is generally not made of wood, but of earthwork, with a distinctive style of window known as mushiko mado (虫籠窓, lit.

[11] Machiya, despite their status as part of Japan's cultural heritage, have undergone rapid decline in numbers in recent decades, with many being demolished in order to provide space for new buildings.

Many of these kanban kenchiku machiya have also lost their tile roofs, becoming more boxed-out in shape; many have also had aluminum or steel shutters installed, as are commonly seen in small urban shops around the world.

The group works alongside individual machiya owners to restore their buildings and to have them designated as "Structures of Scenic Importance" (景観重要建造物, keikan jūyō kenzōbutsu);[c] under this designation, the structures are protected from demolition without the permission of the mayor of Kyoto, and a stipend is provided by the city government to the owners of the machiya to help support the upkeep of the building.

The company's main office, itself located in a machiya, houses a traditional arts practice space, including a full-size Noh stage.