Machiya (Townhouses)

Structure: Narrow frontage (12-18 feet), deep layout (40-60 feet), 2-3 stories

Layout:

• Ground floor: shop front or workshop (if applicable), entry passage (tori-niwa)
• Middle: living spaces, kitchen, small courtyard (tsubo-niwa)
• Upper floors: private rooms, storage
• Rear: garden or additional workshop space

Materials:

• Wood post-and-beam construction
• Plaster walls with visible timber framing (shinabe-zukuri)
• Wooden lattice windows (koshi)
• Ceramic tile roofs, occasionally thatched in rural areas

Features:

• Engawa (wooden veranda/corridor) wrapping around courtyards
• Shoji screens (paper sliding doors) for interior divisions
• Tansu (step-chest) storage built into staircases

Colors: Dark wood exteriors (charred cedar or natural weathering), cream/grey plaster, red/brown roofs

Integration: Line commercial streets, create continuous streetscape. Ground floor retail creates active pedestrian zones.