are traditional Japanese

entryway A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, reception area or an entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc. ...

areas for a house, apartment, or building, a combination of a

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

and a doormat. It is usually located inside the building directly in front of the door. The primary function of is for the removal of

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture ...

s before entering the main part of the house or building. A secondary function is a place for brief visits without being invited across the step into the house proper. For example, where a

pizza delivery Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria or pizza chain Delivery (commerce), delivers a pizza to a customer. An order is typically made either by telephone, or over the internet, in which the customer can request pizza type and size, a ...

driver in an English-speaking country would normally stand on the

and conduct business through the open front door, in Japan a food delivery would traditionally have taken place across the step. After removing shoes, one must avoid stepping on the tiled or concrete in socks or with bare feet, to avoid bringing dirt into the house. Once inside, generally one will change into :

slipper Slippers are light footwear that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors. History The recorded history of slippers can be traced ...

s or shoes intended for indoor wear. are also occasionally found in other buildings in Japan, especially in old-fashioned businesses.

Design

are normally recessed into the floor, to contain any dirt that is tracked in from the outside (as in a

mud room A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, reception area or an entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc.) ...

). The height of the step varies from very low () to shin-level or knee-level. in apartments are usually much smaller than those in houses, and may have no difference in elevation with the rest of the floor; it may simply have a different type of flooring material than the rest of the floor to distinguish it as the . A genkan in an apartment in Hokkaido

Schools and have large with compartments for each person's outdoor shoes. In private residences, may be absent, and shoes are usually turned to face the door so they can be slipped on easily when leaving.

History

The custom of removing one's shoes before entering the house is believed to go back over one thousand years to the pre-historical era of elevated-floor structures. It has continued to the present, even after the Westernization of the Japanese home, which began in the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868–1912).Genkan (entrance)
Mini Encyclopedia.

References

External links

What is this?
A comprehensive explanation about the in Japan.

Japanese words and phrases Japanese home Rooms {{japan-struct-stub

Design

History

See also

References

External links