hashi 階

Also read kizahashi, kidahashi. Lit. a step, stair, stairway, staircase. Hashi is used to refer to steps leading directly from the ground or garden into a building or hall, dō 堂. Kizahashi or kidahashi are ancient words for ladders or stairs but are seldom found in this sense now. However, the three steps leading from the white graveled area, shirasu 白州 in front of a noh stage *nōbutai 能舞台 to the stage itself are called kizahashi.