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On my recent trip to Mie Prefecture, I encountered a box staircase at Sekijuku.
Do you know?
Although I was fascinated by its existence, I was excited at the first time I saw a raw box staircase at the Machiya Museum.
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There is no twist, but the cleanliness is wonderful.
As you can see, it's like a stack of boxes, with drawers on the sides of the stairs.
It seems that it was made in the Edo period.
Speaking of the Edo period, people lived in cramped townhouses in the city, so it's a crystallization of wisdom about how to use the cramped space effectively.
It seems that it was used not only for townhouses but also for the stairs of storehouses.
With this, I was able to actually go up to the second floor of the townhouse, and of course the sense of stability was outstanding.
Although it is a staircase, there are some that are built-in, and others that are placed in a tiered chest.
It seems that there may or may not be a handrail.
By the way, it seems to refer especially to the case where there is a handrail, but it is also called a box ladder.
Along with this something (stairs), fill something else (storage).
I personally love how well it fits.
Smart and comfortable.
It may be perfect for Japanese housing conditions, which are still cramped.
When it comes to the names and names of folk implements, there are many cases where the names are not unified and scattered, such as this box staircase and box ladder.
In the past, information was not as widely distributed as it is now, and folk implements themselves were developed independently in each region, so it is natural to say that it is natural, but the differences around that are also interesting.
Of course, there are language problems, but there are cultural differences between the west and the east, and if you go north, it gets colder, and the houses and tools are different.
I would like to add to the enjoyment of this maniac exploration to discover differences in the same folk implements depending on the region.
Box stairs are likely to be effective in building townhouses, so they seem to be common in post towns like this Sekijuku and prosperous towns.
Next, where can I meet a box staircase, Edo, Kyoto, or Osaka?
I hope that you will not get tired of reading this maniac mingu series, so I will introduce some small items in the next article.
Middle ground