gedan 下段

Lit. low step. The lowest level of floor space in a formal *shoin 書院 style room where retainers of lowest rank were accommodated. The highest floor area was called *jōdan 上段 where only those of exalted rank sat, usually the shogun and his closest retainers. If there was no intermediate area *chūdan 中段, then all the remaining floor areas, even adjacent rooms or rooms somewhat removed, were called gedan. Example: Nijōjō 二条城, Ni-no-maru 二の丸 Tōzamurai 遠侍 Chokushi-no-Ma 勅使の間 has a gedan of 35 mats.