Entrance room (genkan)
The entrance room serves as a transition space between the exterior and interior where shoes are removed. Its ground level floor is made of black pebbles embedded in cement. Walls are surfaced with Japanese mud plaster. The sliding entrance door is glass supported by a white cedar grill-style frame. Shoji screens can close off the entrance room from the interior. The shoe cabinet (getabako) is constructed with white cedar framing and red cedar panels.
Tearoom (chashitsu)
The house’s tearoom has an alcove (tokonoma) and two different ceiling styles — thin woven slats of red cedar (ajiro) and red cedar panels with bamboo framing (kakekomi-tenjo). Adjacent to the tearoom is a small kitchen (mizuya) where water is boiled and tearoom accessories are stored and cleaned.
Kitchen/dining room
There is also a larger, Western-style kitchen integrated with Japanese woodworking. Red cedar panels with white cedar framing provide color contrast in the ceiling. This same contrast is repeated in the cabinetry. The varied geometric designs in the woodwork is reflected in sunlight patterns coming through the windows, thereby integrating the interior and exterior, an important principle in Japanese architecture.
Bathing room (ofuro)
The bathing area has a traditional Japanese wooden soaking tub with a hand-rail for support. The tub, floor, and wall panels are constructed of Port Orford white cedar, a wood that holds up in water without warping. Since one washes off outside the tub, the wood floor is made up of slats (sunoko) allowing water to drain. The linen closet at the left before entering is white and red cedar.
Back top
|
