Kōshi (格子)

  • Degōshi – Shimotaya type
  • Degōshi – Itoyagōshi type
  • Hiragōshi
  • Degōshi _ Shimotaya type
  • Hiragōshi
  • Hiragōshi
  • Degōshi – Shimotaya type
  • Fuyakōshi

Kōshi are lattices on the façade of a machiya. The parallel strips of wood feature prominently on them, and form a fluent passage between the outside and the inside. It is said that kōshi were created after the Ōnin war (1467–1477) as a means of self-defense. 

A special feature of them is that, when sitting on the inside, one can see and hear everything that is happening on the street in front of the house, but a passer-by will not be able to observe what the persons inside are doing; especially important when doing business in the house.

Kōshi can broadly be divided into three categories:

  • Degōshi – lattices that stick out from the outer wall like a bay window; normally very fine designs
  • Hiragōshi – flat lattices where some bars are shorter, sometimes also referred to as komochigōshi (grid with children); depending on the ratio between long and short bars, designs are called two-bar komochi, three-bar komochi etc.
  • Daigōshi – sturdy lattices that are an integral part of the house; they cannot be removed because they are part of the primary structure;

Furthermore, the lattices have different designs depending on the business type that was, or sometimes still is, conducted in the house. The most common ones are

  • Itoyagōshi – used by thread merchants; a three-bar komochi
  • Sumiyagōshi – used by charcoal merchants; made up of thick, unfinished wood panels, it is a type of daigōshi
  • Fuyagōshi – used by merchants selling noodles, tōfu or other products where water is involved in the storage process; made of thick, sturdy bars with some room between them in order to let a good amount of light in the mise
  • Komeyagōshi – used by rice merchants; a type of daigōshi with a rough grid and unfinished surface
  • Shimotayagōshi – normally daigōshi; the upper part and the kōshi part are different: the kōshi are generally made up of very fine wooden bars close to one another, while the upper part looks like a ranma with a very crude design; as with the shimataya type of machiya, these kōshi indicate that the business once connected to the house does no longer exist