Architecture
Machiya combine many special architectural features that cannot be found anywhere else. They are designed such that almost every part has a specific purpose while being decorative at the same time. For example, the lattices on the outside of a town house are not only pleasing to the eye, they also double as a privacy shield. Interior gardens are not only visual highlights inside the house, they also take on the role of a natural air conditioner. Other elements of the houses combine different items which are used on an everyday basis with each other, such as stairs that double as a chest of drawers.
While there are many details to be discovered, there are, on a broader picture, several different forms of machiya. By and large, the houses are normally assigned to one of the following six categories.
Tsushinikai (厨子二階)
They are also called chūnikai (中二階). They were built from the Edo period (1603–1867) until the Meiji period (1868–1912) and have a very low first floor, which was mainly used as storage or as a sleeping space for maids and servants. The name chūnikai literally means "half second storey", reflecting the low ceiling on the first (the Japanese second) floor.
Shimotaya (仕舞屋)
Shimotaya were built between the end of the Meiji period and the Taishō period (1912–1926). Their name is a play on words. In Japanese, the verb shimau (仕舞う) means "to end; to finish", indicating that the business of the family owning the house does no longer exist. The past tense of this verb is pronounced "shimota" in Kyōto as opposed to "shimatta" in Standard Japanese. The name of the houses, shimotaya, thus directly translates to "finished shop", indicating the absence of any shop space in those houses while, at the same time, implying that the family occupying the house once did run a business.
Daibeizukuri (大塀造)
Daibeizukuri type houses are mainly used as dwellings, normally built by wealthy merchants and doctors. They are special in that the house itself is not directly adjacent to the street. The wall, which is followed by the front yard, blocks the main building from the street.
Sōnikai(総二階)
Sōnikai houses were mainly built between the Meiji and Taishō periods. Their first floor is the same height as the ground floor and thus usable as living space. To allow more light into the house, the mushiko-mado is replaced by glass windows. Due to the full-height first floor, these houses are also called hon nikai, meaning "true two floor".
Shōwa shoki-gata (昭和初期型)
As their name suggests, those houses are from the beginning of the Shōwa period (1926–1989). Structurally, they are the same as the sōnikai houses, but the walls on the ground floor are made out of concrete and there are no degōshi to be found; instead, sliding glass windows were used. The lattices in front of them are normally made out of brass or aluminium pipes, as opposed to the traditional wooden lattices.
Kanban kenchiku (看板建築)
These houses are machiya in disguise. Their exterior with mortar, bricks, and tiles may look completely different from any traditional house, but what counts is on the inside: behind the façade, the house is still a traditional machiya. One only needs to take the façade off and maybe do a little cosmetic refreshing on the house itself and it is as if there had never been a fake frontage. Because of the "shield" that is put in front of these houses, that type is called kanban kenchiku, which translates as "shield architecture".