1 A small-scale
freestanding structure containing a mortar or handmill, usu 臼, for pounding
rice. Perhaps the earliest such structures to be recorded were the usuya
of the *daijoukyuu 大嘗宮,
the temporary complex erected in connection with the imperial investiture ceremonies
marking the beginning of a new emperor's reign. According to descriptions dating
from the Jougan 貞観 era (859-77), they were a pair of thatched buildings,
3 bays by 1 bay, one each in the northern part of the service compounds of the
Suki-in 主基院 and the Yuki-in 悠基院. Usuya were a common type of ancillary
structure associated with farmhouses nouka 農家. From the late Edo period,
usuya were often built adjacent to a stream, and a water wheel suisha
水車, was used to power the usu.
2 In
the vernacular houses *minka
民家 of Hachijoujima 八丈島, a freestanding structure, separate from the main house,
which functioned as a kitchen *suijiba
炊事場, in addition to housing an handmill.
3 In
minka in Shizuoka and Gifu prefectures, a part of the earthfloored area
*doma 土間, so called because
the mortar or handmill usu was installed there.
4 An
alternative term for *usuniwa
臼庭. |
