Japanese home

thumb|Tatami mat in Enkō-ji

overview about toilets in Japan

thumb|A modern Japanese kotatsu thumb|The underside of an electric kotatsu, with the heater visible in the centre thumb|Edo period|Edo-period kotatsu at the Fukagawa Edo Museum

thumb|upright=1.7|Japanese-style s laid out for sleeping in a ryokan (inn). In green, three s per bed; in red, turned-back s. The top two futons in each stack are covered in white fitted sheets, matching the pillowslips.

thumb|upright=1.35|Shoji paper sliding doors in the Rinshunkaku at Sankei-en (Important Cultural Property) thumb|upright=1.35|Shoji doors next to the tokonoma alcove, Rinshunkaku thumb|upright=1.35| alt=View along wood-floored engawa towards a corner showing shoji edge-on and, on the far side of the corner, from the inside, with light shining through.|A tatami room surrounded by paper shoji (paper outside, lattice inside). The shoji are surrounded by an engawa (porch/corridor); the engawa is surrounded by [[garasu-do, all-glass sliding panels.]]

thumb|Fusuma thumb|Kin-busuma (golden fusuma) In Japanese architecture, are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a tatami mat, and are thick. The heights of fusuma have increased in recent years due to an increase in average height of the Japanese population, and a height is now common. In older constructions, they are as small as high. They consist of a lattice-like wooden understructure covered in cardboard and a layer of paper or cloth on both sides. They t

thumb|A with a kakemono and flower arrangement thumb|Detailed view of a and aspects of a Japanese room thumb|View from the side of a thumb| at Tenryū-ji

300px|right|thumb|A displaying a and are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto . They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of worship.

right|thumb|A -styled home in Shirakawa, Gifu (village)|Shirakawa village, [[Gifu Prefecture]] are vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles. In the context of the four divisions of society, were the dwellings of farmers, artisans, and merchants (i.e., the three non-samurai castes). This connotation no longer exists in the modern Japanese language, and any traditional Japanese-style residence of appropriate age could be referred to as . thumb|Okugame minka farmhouse are characterized by their basic structure, their roof structure, and their roo

thumb|300px|An ornate butsudan with open doors displaying an enshrined Amida Buddha. A Butsudan in the [[Jodo Shinshu Buddhism tradition. (At Osamu Dazai Memorial Museum)]] thumb|Close-up view of the inner altar with the painted scroll of the Buddha

thumb|The Tōmatsu house from Funairi-chō, Nagoya, is an example of a large . thumb| façade in Kyoto thumb|right|Old fabric shop in Nara, Nara|Nara are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto. ('townhouses') and ('farm dwellings') constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture known as ('folk dwellings').

thumb|right|240px|This washitsu has tatami flooring and shoji (doors). thumb|right|240px|A traditional washitsu

thumb|Traditional Japanese chair with a zabuton and a separate armrest A zabuton (kanji: , ) is a cushion for sitting that is commonly used in traditional Japanese settings. Zabuton is a Japanese loanword that is also sometimes used in Western culture to describe the zaniku, a flat mat that a zafu is placed on.

are traditional Japanese entryway areas for a house, apartment, or building, a combination of a porch and a doormat. It is usually located inside the building directly in front of the door. The primary function of is for the removal of shoes before entering the main part of the house or building.

thumb|280px|Senmyō (宣明), furo of Shōkoku-ji (built 1400, reconstruction 1596) in [[Kyoto, Japan]] thumbnail|right|180px|A traditional private furo in a Ryokan (inn)|ryokan in Kyoto thumbnail|right|180px|A modern acrylic furo in a Japanese apartment thumbnail|right|A JGSDF military furo in Camp [[Matsudo]]

thumb|A porcelain thumb|North American "hibachi" cast iron grill

thumb|240px|right|Irori An irori (, ) is a traditional Japanese sunken hearth fired with charcoal. Used for heating the home and for cooking food, it is basically a square, stone-lined pit in the floor, equipped with an adjustable pothook – called a jizaikagi () and generally consisting of an iron rod within a bamboo tube. It is used for raising or lowering a suspended pot or kettle by means of an attached lever which is often decoratively designed in the shape of a fish. Historically, the irori served as the main source of residential heating and lighting, providing a place to cook, dry

thumb|The writer Sei Shōnagon standing behind a thumb| protecting the view to the Imperial throne in the of Kyoto Imperial Palace thumb|Less formal (but still cloth-bound) in a common home; from the more brightly-lit side, they are opaque thumb| on a train; from the more dimly-lit side, they are transparent

thumb|A in the Sentō|bath house of [[Kobe, Japan]] thumb| at an elementary school A is a shoe cupboard in Japan, usually situated in the , an entryway or porch of the house. This is often called a cubby in the United States. In Japan, it is considered uncouth to not remove one's shoes before entering the house. Near the is a slipper rack, and most people in Japan wear slippers around the house, except for rooms which have tatami flooring, as they are bad for the floor. The is usually made of wood and bamboo, and there are many sold all over the world.

thumb|right|200px|A zaisu, pictured here with zabuton and ''''

Practice of dining in a toilet room

thumb|right|An , in which folded futons can be seen. An is a traditional Japanese closet. Its doors generally slide open. It was originally used to store futons during the day to allow full use of the room's floorspace.

thumb|The courtyard garden of a former geisha house () in [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa. The trees are covered with straw to protect them from the snow.]]

thumb|right|300px|A traditional Washitsu|Japanese room with a [[tokonoma]] The kamiza () is the "top seat" within a room, meaning the seat of honor; the term also applies to the best seats in airplanes, trains, and cars. The antonym, meaning "bottom seat," is shimoza (下座). In a room, the kamiza is the seat or position that is most comfortable, usually furthest from the door. This is because it is the warmest, and was the safest from attack back in the feudal era. In a traditional washitsu room, it would often be a zabuton placed so the person sitting there has his back to the tokonoma; the kam

thumb|upright=1.5|Edo-period chest on chest were used by merchant class women for personal clothing storage. are traditional Japanese mobile storage cabinets. are commonly used for the storage of clothing, particularly kimono.