1 A dialect variant of *mizuya
水屋, used in the Edo period to designate an area in a vernacular house
*minka 民家, equipped
with a sink *nagashi
流し water jars mizugame 水甕, wooden buckets and tubs, and used
for washing dishes or food preparation. Sometimes there was also a
well *ido 井戸, or
water piped from a nearby stream. Usually located in the rear corner
of the earthen-floored room *doma
土間, or in a rear projection room *geya
下屋. It was often earthen-floored, but might be paved with stone flags,
or even given a low timber floor, and have a drain. Use of the term
'minja' is recorded in parts of Aomori, Akita, Niigata, Yamagata,
Fukushima, Shimane, and Gifu prefectures. On occasions it may refer
to the kitchen as whole. Variant pronunciations include menjiya
めんじや and minjou みんじょう.
Old Wakayama 若山 house
Hida minzokumura・Hida no sato 飛騨民俗村・飛騨の里 (Gifu)
2 In gable entry *tsumairi
妻入 farmhouses nouka 農家, in parts of Fukui and Toyama prefectures,
a term for a food preparation and washing area equipped with a sink
*nagashi 流し,
located near the front of the earth-floored area *doma
土間.
