Home & Living
Tatami, sliding doors, the genkan entryway, kotatsu and wooden architecture.
77 entriesTap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
Essential（19）
- ConceptsEssential tadaima and okaeriただいま・おかえりthe greeting exchanged when someone comes home
- CraftsEssential noren暖簾the split cloth curtain hung at a shop entrance
- Annual EventsEssential osoji大掃除the year-end deep clean
- Home & LivingEssential kotatsuこたつa low table with a heater and a quilt
- Home & LivingEssential separate toilet and bathトイレと風呂が別why the toilet is not in the bathroom
- Home & LivingEssential madori間取りの見方how to read a Japanese rental floor plan
- Home & LivingEssential genkan玄関the sunken entryway of a Japanese home
- Home & LivingEssential zabuton座布団a floor cushion for sitting
- Home & LivingEssential tatami畳woven straw floor mats
- Home & LivingEssential hanging laundry outside洗濯物の外干しdrying clothes on the balcony
- Home & LivingEssential futon布団the bedding you lay out and put away
- Home & LivingEssential monohoshi zao物干し竿the laundry pole used to dry clothes outdoors
- Home & LivingEssential washitsu和室a traditional tatami room
- MannersEssential slippersスリッパindoor slippers and the toilet pair
- MannersEssential taking off your shoes靴を脱ぐremoving shoes indoors
- Modern JapanEssential gomi bunbetsuゴミの分別sorting your rubbish
- Onsen & BathEssential furoお風呂the Japanese home bath
- Onsen & BathEssential yubune ni tsukaru湯船につかるsoaking in the tub rather than just showering
- PlacesEssential Shirakawago白川郷the mountain village of steep thatched farmhouses
Standard（46）
- ArtsStandard kakejiku掛け軸a hanging scroll displayed in an alcove
- ArtsStandard chashitsu茶室the room built for a tea gathering
- ArtsStandard byobu屏風a folding screen
- BuddhismStandard butsudan仏壇the Buddhist altar in a Japanese home
- CraftsStandard tatami craftsman畳職人the maker of tatami mats, a shrinking trade that still measures every room by hand
- HistoryStandard jokamachi城下町a town laid out around a castle
- Home & LivingStandard 1LDK1LDKhow Japanese floor plans are labeled
- Home & LivingStandard chabudaiちゃぶ台a low folding dining table
- Home & LivingStandard unit bathユニットバスthe Japanese bathroom layout
- Home & LivingStandard irori囲炉裏the open hearth sunk into the floor
- Home & LivingStandard moving house paperwork引っ越しの手続きwhat you must file when you move
- Home & LivingStandard amado雨戸sliding storm shutters
- Home & LivingStandard oshiire押し入れthe deep sliding-door closet
- Home & LivingStandard fusuma and shoji襖と障子the sliding paper doors of a Japanese house
- Home & LivingStandard katori senko蚊取り線香mosquito coil
- Home & LivingStandard sotoboshi外干しdrying laundry and futons outdoors
- Home & LivingStandard kawara yane瓦屋根the tiled roof
- Home & LivingStandard tatekae to chuko jutaku建て替えと中古住宅why Japanese houses are so often rebuilt rather than resold
- Home & LivingStandard locks and home security鍵と防犯how Japanese homes are secured
- Home & LivingStandard tataki玄関のたたきthe sunken entryway floor where shoes come off
- Home & LivingStandard gassho-zukuri and thatched roofs合掌造りと茅葺きthe steep thatched farmhouses of the snow country
- Home & LivingStandard shichirin七輪the small portable charcoal grill
- Home & LivingStandard storage and decluttering収納と片づけliving well in a small space
- Home & LivingStandard tokonoma床の間the alcove in a tatami room
- Home & LivingStandard kamidana神棚the household Shinto altar
- Home & LivingStandard uchimizu打ち水sprinkling water on the ground to cool the air
- Home & LivingStandard heating appliances暖房器具how Japanese homes are heated
- Home & LivingStandard machiya町家the narrow deep townhouse of an old merchant quarter
- Home & LivingStandard nagaya長屋the Edo row house where most townspeople lived
- Home & LivingStandard cold Japanese houses日本の家の寒さwhy homes are cold in winter
- Home & LivingStandard Japanese kitchen日本の台所what a Japanese kitchen has and lacks
- Home & LivingStandard hyosatsu表札the family nameplate by the door
- Home & LivingStandard butsuma仏間the room traditionally set aside for the family Buddhist altar
- Home & LivingStandard guarantor保証人who vouches for you when you rent
- Home & LivingStandard wooden architecture木造建築why Japan builds in wood
- Home & LivingStandard wooden houses木造住宅why Japanese homes are rebuilt, not resold
- Home & LivingStandard reikin and shikikin礼金と敷金key money and deposit when renting
- Life EventsStandard greeting the neighbors引っ越しの挨拶the visit you make after moving in
- MannersStandard seiza正座sitting on your heels
- Modern JapanStandard washletウォシュレットthe Japanese high-tech toilet
- Modern JapanStandard air conditioningエアコンと節電cooling a Japanese summer, and saving power
- Modern JapanStandard akiya空き家empty houses left standing across Japan
- Modern JapanStandard utility poles電柱と電線why so many overhead wires
- Seasons & NatureStandard yukikaki雪かきclearing snow as daily work
- Onsen & BathStandard ryokan旅館a traditional Japanese inn
- ShintoStandard jichinsai地鎮祭the ceremony held before building on a piece of land
Advanced（12）
- ArtsAdvanced shoin-zukuri書院造the room style that modern Japanese rooms come from
- ClothingAdvanced kappogi割烹着the full-cover Japanese apron
- CraftsAdvanced kigumi木組みjoining timber without nails
- FolkloreAdvanced kimon鬼門the unlucky northeast direction
- FolkloreAdvanced kaso方位と家相lucky and unlucky directions in a house
- Home & LivingAdvanced engawa縁側the wooden veranda between inside and out
- Home & LivingAdvanced danchi団地postwar public housing estates
- Home & LivingAdvanced chonaikai and kairanban町内会と回覧板the neighborhood association and its circulating folder
- Home & LivingAdvanced oidaki追い焚きreheating the same bathwater
- Home & LivingAdvanced nisetai jutaku二世帯住宅a house built for two generations
- Home & LivingAdvanced amido網戸the sliding screen door
- Home & LivingAdvanced ranma欄間the carved panel above the sliding doors