A separate strip of floor
The engawa runs beside the tatami-floored interior. Moving along it can connect rooms without crossing each room. Its floor and position distinguish it from the main living space.
Illustrated Japanese Culture
Engawa: the space along a room’s edge
縁側
An engawa is a boarded or bamboo-floored space beside the rooms of a Japanese building. It provides a route along the rooms and a place to sit facing the garden. Some examples are enclosed by sliding shutters; others are exposed to the weather.
Along the edge of the roomsPosition
Wooden boards or bamboo slatsSurface
Inside or outside the storm shuttersKey distinction
01
Find the boundary between room and garden
Doors change the boundary
An engawa may lie within sliding rain shutters or outside them. Opening and closing the shutters changes its exposure to the garden; shōji can separate it from the rooms.
Why a nure-en gets wet
A nure-en sits outside the storm shutters. Even a deep roof overhang cannot keep it entirely dry. Slatted sunoko floors leave gaps through which rainwater can drain.
Width and height describe different features
Hiro-en names a broad veranda; ochi-en names one set lower than the adjoining floor or veranda. These terms describe width and level, while nure-en describes exposure outside the shutters.
02
Three surfaces to compare
The outer edge is at the bottom in all three views.
Boards running lengthwise
In a kure-en, the long sides of the boards face the outer edge of the veranda. The boards run along the length of the space.
Boards running across
In a kirime-en, the cut ends of the boards face the outer edge. The boards run across the veranda’s width.
A bamboo-slatted floor
A takesunoko-en uses bamboo slats instead of broad wooden boards.
03
Perimeter spaces in earlier residences
The layers around a Heian-period hall
In shinden-style residences, the central moya was surrounded by peripheral spaces such as the hisashi, with an open sunoko veranda farther out. These names identify different parts of the building rather than interchangeable words for engawa. Gaps between the sunoko boards or slats allowed rainwater to drain away.
04
Katsura: a platform facing the garden
From the Old Shoin to the moon-viewing platform
At Katsura Imperial Villa, a broad veranda beside the Old Shoin connects with a platform projecting towards the garden. Open shōji allow a continuous view from the interior.
Bamboo held within a chestnut frame
The moon-viewing platform measures about 4 metres by 2.9 metres. A chestnut-wood frame surrounds a floor of 100 bamboo pieces. These dimensions belong to this particular platform, rather than a standard engawa.
05
Later houses and glazed edges
The former Asakura residence
Built in 1919, the former Asakura residence preserves a two-storey timber house and a strolling garden shaped around a change in ground level. Most rooms have tatami floors.
Enclosed with glass
Some modern engawa have glass doors along the outer edge. This allows the garden to remain visible when the enclosure is closed, while retaining the strip of non-tatami flooring beside the rooms.
What can you now explain?
Where is an engawa in relation to the rooms?
Along their edge, commonly beside the tatami-floored interior.
Must an engawa be completely outdoors?
No. Some lie within sliding storm shutters.
Why is a nure-en exposed to rain?
It lies outside the storm shutters, even when a roof overhang extends above it.
How can you distinguish kure-en and kirime-en boards?
Kure-en boards run lengthwise; kirime-en boards run across the veranda.
What is a takesunoko-en floored with?
Bamboo slats.
Are hisashi and engawa interchangeable terms?
No. They identify different peripheral parts of a building.
What materials form Katsura’s moon-viewing platform?
A chestnut frame supports a floor of 100 pieces of bamboo.
When was the former Asakura residence built?
In 1919.