I’m quite interested in this subject and would like to get more info about this.
Can anyone please explain the difference? To my understanding Kyomachiya is only in Kyoto but what makes it different from a standard machiya?
What makes a kominka different from a machiya?
I assume nagaya is only used for row of connected houses with a similar layout?
Am I missing other style of houses?
Any recommended websites or books on this subject would be appreciated.
2 comments
Just did some googling in Japanese:
– Machiya is a house that also functions as a shop. Usually the part that faces the street is the shop and the living area is behind it. Many of them are shaped long and narrow, because during the Edo period the amount of tax depended on the width of the entrance.
– There’s no clear definition of Kominka, but apparently it just refers to Japanese houses built using traditional Japanese architectural techniques.
– Kyomachiya refers to any traditional wooden house built in Kyoto before 1950. The machiya in Kyomachiya (京町家) is different from that of normal machiya (町屋) because it doesn’t just refer to machiyas but also includes regular traditional houses. Kyomachiyas got its name during the 60’s when kominkas became a fad and people paid interest in the traditional houses in Kyoto since they were mostly unharmed from the bombing of WW2 (due to the area originally being a target of the atomic bomb).
My wife says nagaya is like connected machiya that share walls. First I’ve seen that word, heh. There’s an English Wikipedia for it