shikidai-no-ma　式台の間

KEY WORD :　architecture / aristocratic dwellings

Also written 色代の間. A room or building that projects from (or adjacent and linked by galleries to) the rear of the main reception hall shuden 主殿 in the residences of leading warriors buke yashiki 武家屋敷 especially in the 16-17c. The term appears in the carpenters' manual *SHOUMEI 匠明 (1608), written with the characters 色代. In modern texts it is usually written 式台. The shikidai-no-ma was constructed at the lower end *shimote 下手 of the main hall, with the ridge of its roof at right angles to the hall. It often formed a link between the main hall and the guard house, toozamurai 遠侍. Originally, it was a waiting area for retainers, but later became associated with the formal entry area, and ceremonial exchanges of greetings with visitors took place there. The shikidai-no-ma sometimes replaced the toozamurai, and in this case it might have a formal entry porch *genkan 玄関 projecting from it. Since the shikidai-no-ma was used for audiences, many developed examples contained a large decorative recess ootoko 大床 up to 4 bays in length, in the principle room. An example of the shikidai-no-ma can be seen in the Kaitokukan 懐徳館 in Kouchijou 高知城 (1747-9). The term is often abbreviated to *shikidai 式台.

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