ABOUT JAPANESE HOUSE
Housing in Japan includes modern and traditional styles. Two patterns of residences are predominant in contemporary Japan: the single-family detached house and the multiple-unit building, either owned by an individual or corporation and rented as apartments to tenants, or owned by occupants. In Japan, multiple-unit blocks are referred to as one of two types: 1) Apaato (アパート）older buildings, which are usually only a few stories in height, without a central secure entrance 2) Manshon (マンション) modern buildings with multiple floors, elevators, and a communal secure gate, with centralised postboxes; they are usually more sturdily built than apaato, normally of reinforced concrete (RC) construction[1]. Additional kinds of housing, especially for unmarried people, include boarding houses (which are popular among college students), dormitories (common in companies), and barracks (for members of the Self-Defense Forces, police and some other public employees).
Traditional homes
A house with an old-style thatched roof
Traditional Japanese housing does not have a designated utility for each room aside from the entrance area (genkan, 玄関), kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. Any room can be a living room, dining room, study, or bedroom. This is possible because all the necessary furniture is portable, being stored in oshiire, a small section of the house used for storage. It is important to note that in Japanese, living room is expressed as i-ma, living "space". This is because the size of a room can be changed by altering the partitioning. Large traditional houses often have only one ima (living room/space) under the roof, while kitchen, bathroom, and toilet are attached on the side of the house as extensions.
Somewhat similar to modern offices, partitions within the house are created by fusuma, sliding doors made from wood and paper, which are portable and easily removed. Fusuma seal each partition from top to bottom so it can create a mini room within the house. On the edge of a house are rōka, wooden floored passages, that are similar to hallways. Rōka and ima are partitioned by shōji, sliding and portable doors that are also made from paper and wood. Unlike fusuma, paper used for shōji are very thin so outside light can pass through into the house. This was before glass was used for sliding doors. Rōka and outside of the house are either partitioned by walls or portable wooden boards that are used to seal the house at night. Extended roofs protect the rōka from getting wet when it rains, except during typhoon season where the house gets sealed completely. Roofs of traditional houses in Japan are made of wood and clay, with tiles or thatched areas on top.
For large gatherings, these partitions are removed to create one large meeting room. During a normal day, partitions can create much smaller and more manageable living spaces. Therefore, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and genkan with one multipurpose living space create one complete Japanese housing unit. However, the bathroom, toilet, and even kitchen can be communal. (See Sentō.) Therefore, the minimum Japanese housing arrangement, which is still possible to find if one is looking for the cheapest room to rent, consists of just genkan and one living room/space.
Real estate advertisements provide a glimpse into the modern Japanese home. Housing is typically listed as 2LDK or 3LDK. L designating living room, D for dining room, and K for kitchen. In this format, the bathroom and toilet are not mentioned but always included. D and K are not really separate: the dining room is part of or next to the kitchen. Therefore, the size and the price of apartments are primarily determined by the number of L, "living rooms". The expression "living room" is slightly deceptive because the living room, though not necessarily decorated in traditional Japanese style with tatami, are presumed to be multipurpose. Therefore, living rooms are used as study rooms, "living rooms", bed (futon) rooms, as well as dining rooms depending on the need of resident(s). Moreover, each "living room" is separated by a removable sliding door, such as fusuma, so living rooms can be one large single room.
Additionally, advertisements quote the sizes of the rooms – most importantly, the living room – with measurements in tatami mats (jō in Japanese, traditional mats woven from rice straw that are of a standard size: 180 cm by 90 cm in the Tokyo region, and 191 cm by 95.5 cm in western Japan): "2DK; one six-tatami Japanese-style room, one six-tatami Western-style room" is an example.
The layout of a typical apartment varies, but entry is usually into the DK (dining/kitchen), while the other rooms are behind it. In larger dwellings, one or more rooms may also be accessed by the hallway before reaching the kitchen area. The toilet is located adjacent to the "DK", as is the larger "ofuro/bath" room.
Though commonly accepted standards for description exist, this is not a legal requirement, therefore descriptions may not be entirely accurate.
Here the picture of Japanese House... you can see how beatiful it is....
