magaki　籬

KEY WORD :　architecture / general terms

Latticework or a grille *koushi 格子 positioned between the hard-packed earthen yard, domaniwa 土間庭, and the room in which courtesans awaited patrons in the brothels in the *Yoshiwara 吉原 district in Edo, from the 17c to the early 20c. The waiting room was called harimise 張り見世. The front part projected toward the street and was surrounded by latticework called mise goushi 見世格子, so prospective patrons could see the women and make their choices. From the last decade of the 18c onward, brothels at Yoshiwara were ranked. The ranking was denoted by three styles of grilles: oomagaki 大籬, majirimagaki 交り籬, and souhanmagaki 惣半籬. The oomagaki style ranked the highest. The 21cm wide latticework was painted red and reached to the ceiling of the prostitute's waiting room. The entire area was 13 bays across the front and 22 bays deep. The majirimagaki (also called hanmagaki 半籬 or mazemagaki 交籬) ranked lower than the oomagaki. The latticework that was erected between the prostitute's waiting room and the hard-packed earthen floor was open at the bottom to about one-fourth its height. The souhanmagaki, also called kogoushi 小格子, was used in the lowest level brothels. It also had latticework separating the waiting room from the earthen floor. But only the lower half had lattice and the upper half was open. meaning a minor amount of lattice.

REFERENCES:

*yotsumegaki 四目垣

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