honmune-zukuri 本棟造

A style of vernacular house *minka 民家, found in Nagano Prefecture, particularly in the central and southern parts, around Matsumoto 松本, Shiojiri 塩尻, Suwa 諏訪, and Ina 伊那. Used for the houses of commoners of high social status, such as village headmen, shōya 庄屋 or nanushi 名主, it was predominately a rural style, but was occasionally used for inns *honjin 本陣 or the houses of wholesale merchants, ton'ya 問屋. The major features of the style are: a main entrance *ōdoguchi 大戸口 (and often an entrance hall *genkan 玄関 adjacent to it) set in a strikingly broad gable end beneath a shallowly pitched shingle and stone *ishioki itabuki 石置板葺, gabled roof *kirizuma yane 切妻屋根; and, unusually for a farmhouse, an almost square plan of about 210 ㎡ (8 x 8 *ken 間) or larger. A central protruding lattice window degōshimado 出格子窓 lighting a loft on the upper floor and a ridge ornament *suzumeodori 雀踊り with sweeping wings on the roof above may be focal elements of the facade, which often has a wide peripheral area *hisashi 廂 appended, and sometimes a projecting reception room *zashiki 座敷 on the upper *kamite 上手 side. Internally the heart of the plan was a large room called *o-ue 御上 with more private family rooms to its rear and reception rooms in front of it. The earliest surviving examples date from the end of the 17th century, but the style may have emerged earlier in the century, and it is possible that it was related to the military-class residences buke yashiki 武家屋敷 of this region.