Engawa

Engawa ( Japanese 縁側 / 掾側 ) is the wooden balcony on traditional houses in Japan .

introduction

The engawa is located between the living rooms, lined with tatami mats, and the garden belonging to the house. It is usually at indoor level (in exceptional cases one step lower), is covered and has no railing. The separation from the interior is via sliding doors (called Shoji ). From an architectural point of view, it should represent a conscious intermediate zone and can therefore not be assigned to either the interior or the exterior. Since the Engawa is always covered, from a structural point of view, this zone should protect the sensitive sliding doors from driving rain and protect the interior from too much sunlight in summer. You can only step into the garden via a specially designed large stone. In addition, it is strictly forbidden in Japanese culture to enter the engawa with street shoes.

Executions

There are four types of Engawa:

kure-en ( 榑縁 ): the floor boards of the engawa run parallel to the building wall and are intersected at the corners at a 45 ° angle
kirime-en ( 切目縁 ): the floor boards of the engawa run at right angles to the building wall and are therefore relatively short
takesunoko-en ( 竹簀の子縁 ): the floor boards of the engawa are bamboo tubes that run parallel to the building wall
nure-en ( 濡縁 ): the engawa is not located on the interior level, but a step lower, between the garden and the interior