Shoin

In few other ways can we see so directly and concretely the changes in the social and cultural life of the Muromachi elite as in the development of shoin-style architecture and the invention of the new form of domestic structure known as the kaisho.

Shoin (書院, drawing room or study) is a type of audience hall in Japanese architecture that was developed during the Muromachi period.

One of the most noticeable changes in architecture to arise from the shoin came from the practice of lining their floors with tatami mats.

The tokonoma was an elevated recess built into the wall to create a space for displaying the Chinese art which was popular at the time at a comfortable eye level.

[4] Occurring at the same time as the development of the shoin architecture, the fusuma, or "sliding doors", were becoming a popular means to divide rooms.