Keywords
Architecture
Tea Houses
Lit. first stone. The stone nearest the crawl-in entrance *nijiriguchi 躙口 of a tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室. Used for taking off one's shoes. Also called *fumi-ishi 踏石, *fuminugi-ishi 踏脱石, hatsu-ishi 初石, ichiban-ishi 一番石, ichi-no-ishi 一の石, kuguri-ishi 潜り石, and nijiriguchi-no-ishi 躙口の石. The hatsu-no-ishi is normally about 15-19 cm away from the tearoom entrance, and the top of the stone is about 27-37 cm lower than the *tatami 畳 flooring in the tearoom. The hatsu-no-ishi at the Fushin'an 不審庵 (Momoyama period / rebuilt 1913, Kyoto) is approximately 10 cm above ground, while that at the Taian 待庵 (1582, Kyoto) is 15 cm high.