The lexicon of the Japanese house

Between comfort and tradition, here is the vocabulary of the Japanese house.

• Amado 雨戸

The amado is a Japanese-style sliding shutter. It is made of wood or metal and is used to protect windows and shouji in bad weather.

• Butsudan 仏壇

The butsudan is a small Buddhist hotel found in almost every Japanese home. They can thus pray to Buddha and pay homage to their ancestors.

• Engawa 縁側

The engawa is a wooden veranda that runs around traditional Japanese houses.

• Furo / Furoba 風呂 / 風呂場

Furo or Ofuro (polite form) designates the Japanese bath. Furoba means "bathroom". Japanese bathrooms are almost always equipped with a bathtub.

• Fusuma 襖

The fusuma is an opaque sliding panel, used to redefine space in traditional Japanese homes.

• Futon 布団

The futon is a type of Japanese bedding that includes a mattress, a pillow, and a blanket. The futon is placed on the floor and is folded up and put away the next morning.

• Getabako 下駄箱

The getabako is shoe storage located at the entrance of the house. In Japan, we take off our shoes before entering someone's house.

• Genkan 玄関

Genkan means a space lower than the level of the house, located after the front door. This is where we welcome guests and take off our shoes.

• Hyosatsu 表札

The hyôsatsu is a nameplate found in front of Japanese houses or establishments in general.

• Ima 居間

This word refers to the living room. It is the place where all the members of the family meet and watch television, for example. You can find a kotatsu table there in winter.

• Ittekimasu / Itterasshai 行ってきます / 行ってらっしゃい

When a member of the family is about to leave, he announces: " ittekimasu ", I'm going (I'm leaving and I'm coming back). Those who remain at home then reply: " Itterasshai ", See you later.

• Kakejiku 掛け軸

The kakejiku is a decorative scroll that the Japanese hang on the walls. It is generally used to decorate the tokonoma alcove.

• Kotatsu 炬燵

The kotatsu is a low table equipped with a heating system. A thick blanket covers it to be warm in winter.

• Noren 暖簾

The noren is a short curtain that the Japanese hang in front of the entrance to houses, restaurants, and shops. It is made of a split fabric to facilitate entry into the building.

• Tadaima  / Okaeri   ただいま / お帰り 

Once the day has passed, when a member of the family returns home, he shouts: " Tadaima "!, I have returned! Whoever welcomes his answers: " Okaeri ", Welcome back home.

• Oshiire 押入れ

The oshiire is a sliding door closet found in Japanese homes. It is used in particular to store futons, once daybreak.

• Senmenjo 洗面所

The Japanese bathroom is very different from ours: in the senmenjo part, there is a sink and the washing machine. The Japanese also undress in the senmenjo, before entering the furoba, where they wash. Finally, they enter the bath, ofuro.

• Shoji 障子

The shouji is a transparent sliding panel, used to delimit the interior from the exterior of Japanese houses. It can, like the fusuma, be used to restructure the space inside the house. It is made of wood and washi paper (from the mulberry tree).

• Tansu 箪笥

Tansu is a traditional Japanese chest of drawers. Originally, it was used to store wood and food. They will then be used to store precious objects.

• Tatami

The tatami is a traditional Japanese floor covering, made of interwoven and piled-up rice straw. It is found in homes, temples, and dojos in Japan.

• Tokonoma 床の間

Tokonoma is a raised alcove found in the chashitsu, the tea pavilion. The Japanese store various decorative items here, such as kakejiku, plant and flower arrangements, etc. Its covering can also be in tatami.

• Washitsu 和室

Washitsu refers to "Japanese-style" rooms, that is to say where the floor covering is tatami and the doors or partitions are fusuma and shouji sliding panels. "Wa" is the character that means "Japan" and "shitsu" means "room".

• Zabuton 座布団

The zabuton is a square cushion on which the Japanese sit on the floor, preferably tatami. " Zabuton " means " futon to sit on".