Recognizing Design Features in Kyoto’s “Machiya” Townhouses

Matsui Kaoru hopes to save traditional Kyoto townhouses from extinction by finding new buyers and renters for them.

Shōki figures on machiya rooftops guard against evil.

A kawara tile roof laid out in the simple yet graceful ichimonji style.

The many different features of Shōki statues.

The low second floor of tsushi-nikai homes was used as servants’ sleeping quarters and as storage space.

A machiya with itoya lattices and a battari shōgi folding table (right). The latticework does not reach the ceiling so that sunlight can pass through.

Lattices allow light to pass but keep probing eyes out.

Early twentieth-century machiya replaced the lower half of the lattice with a concrete wall and wooden latticework with metal bars.

Inuyarai is not just a decorative element but has practical uses as well.

The surface of komayose beams is often decoratively carved with an adz.