Keywords
Architecture
General Terms
A term used in all parts of Japan in the Edo period, for a straight shelf *tana 棚. Built into the shelving recess *tokowaki 床脇, adjacent to the decorative alcove *tokonoma 床の間 in the formal guest reception room *zashiki 座敷 of vernacular houses *minka 民家. Unlike the more conventional staggered shelves *chigaidana 違い棚, the ichimonji dana was a single unbroken shelf extending the full width of the recess. The name, which is derived from its resemblance to the Chinese character for one, ichi 一, was often extended to refer to the entire shelving recess.