Lit. key-shaped house. A widely used term for vernacular houses *minka 民家, of the Edo period with an L-shaped plan. In parts of Niigata, Chiba, and Miyagi Prefectures, it is used interchangeably with *magariya 曲り屋 for thatched farmhouses with a projection containing a stable or storage space at the front of the earth-floored *doma 土間 at the lower *shimote 下手 end of the house. In Ōita Prefecture, likewise it refers to a thatched house type with an unfloored workspace or stable projecting at the front of the doma. In parts of Tochigi and Fukuoka Prefectures, by contrast, the projecting element is usually a reception room *zashiki 座敷, and is located at the upper *kamite 上手 end of the house. In Fukuoka Prefecture, the term is applied to houses where the projection is a back chamber *nando 納戸 or room *heya 部屋 at the rear of the living area, kyoshitsubu 居室部. In Kumamoto Prefecture, it refers to houses comprising doma and kyoshitsubu joined to make either an L or a Z-shaped plan. These are houses often narrow; about 2.5 *ken 間 (approximately 5 m) in cross section