engawa

thumb|A Meiji era bearing a resemblance to a [[veranda, with people for scale. Note the slope of the ground under the , and the traditional stone step.]] thumb|upright|, with sliding glass doors outside, and ( with both paper and glass panes) inside. The solid wood leaning up against the corner is a storm shutter, and is usually stored away. An or is an edging strip of non-tatami-matted flooring in Japanese architecture, usually wood or bamboo. The may run around the rooms, on the outside of the building, in which case they form a veranda that can be used as a porch or sunroom.

Usually, the is outside the translucent paper , but inside the amado storm shutters (when they are not packed away). However, some run outside the . that cannot be enclosed by , or sufficiently sheltered by eaves, must be finished to withstand the Japanese climate. Modern architecture often encloses an with sheet glass. An allows the building to remain open in the rain or sun, without getting too wet or hot, and allows flexible ventilation and sightlines.