[Fig. 139.--Space between dwelling and kura, roofed over and utilized as a kitchen in Tokio.]
Fig. 139.--Space between dwelling and kura, roofed over and utilized as a kitchen in Tokio.
The ponderous doors of the _kura,_ which are kept permanently open, have casings of boards held in place by a wooden pin, which passes through an iron staple in the door. This casing is to protect the door--which, like the walls of the _kura,_ is composed of mud and plaster supported by a stout frame--from being scarred and battered; and at the same time it is so arranged that in case of fire it can be instantly removed and the door closed. The light structure forming this porch may quickly burn down, leaving the _kura_ intact.
[Fig. 140.--Doorway of an old kura in Kioto.]
Fig. 140.--Doorway of an old kura in Kioto.
Oftentimes the outside of the _kura_ has a board-casing kept in place by long wooden strips, which drop into staples that are firmly attached to the walls of the _kura._ These hooks may be seen in _fig. 57_, though in the case of this building the wooden casing had never been applied. Casings of this nature are provided the better to preserve the walls from the action of the weather.
In _fig. 139_ (see page 162) the _kura_ had been originally built some fifteen feet from the main house, and subsequently the intervening space had been roofed over as shown in the drawing.
The doors of the _kura_ are ponderous structures, and are usually left open for ventilation; a heavily grated sliding-door, however, closes the entrance effectually when the thick doors are left open. _Fig. 140_ represents the doorway of an old _kura_ in Kioto illustrating these features. In _fig. 141_ the large key is the one belonging to the inner grated door, while fig. 142 shows the padlock to the outer doors.
[Fig. 141.--Key to kura, and bunch of keys.]
Fig. 141.--Key to kura, and bunch of keys.
The upper room of the _kura_ is often utilized as a store-room, taking the place of the country attic; and one may find here bundles of dried herbs, corn, an old spinning-wheel, chests, and indeed just such objects as ultimately find a resting-place in our attics at home. In this section it would have been more systematic to deal with the _tokonoma_ and _chigai- dana_ separately; but in the description of interiors, it was difficult to describe them without including under the same consideration these recesses, as they form an integral part of the principal room.