mukaidaidokoro 向台所

A second raised-floor area at the lower end *shimote 下手, of urban vernacular houses *machiya 町家. Separated from the main raised-floor living rooms kyoshitsubu 居室部 by the earth-floored area *doma 土間. Found in the Hida 飛騨 region of Gifu Prefecture; surviving examples date from the Meiji period, but the arrangement is believed to go back to late Edo. The mukaidaidokoro served as a food preparation area and servants' dining space. There was usually a sunken hearth *irori 囲炉裏, set in the floor, which was surfaced with matting *tatami 畳, in well-off houses. The term was used instead of *daidokoro 台所 to refer to the room, also equipped with an irori, where family members ate.