Have you ever wondered what the name of the place at the door where Japanese people take off their shoes before entering homes is? In this article, we will talk about the famous Genkan and its importance in Japanese culture and in all houses in Japan.
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What is a Genkan?
Genkan (玄関) is a hall or area at the entrance of houses, buildings, and other Japanese establishments. This area can be small or large, have a corridor, porch, and even a room.
The word genkan can refer to any entrance, the ideogram (玄) means mysterious, hidden, and (関) means connection and barrier. In this article, we will see some curiosities and information about this entrance in Japanese homes.
The main purpose of the genkan is to prevent dirt and dust from entering the house. It is usually built at a different level from the house floor, where people typically take off their shoes and put on slippers to enter the house.
It is part of Japanese culture to take off shoes when entering homes and some establishments in Japan. This place also serves as a barrier for some visitors who do not want to enter the house.
When taking off shoes and sneakers to enter the house, you can leave them in the genkan facing forward to make it easier to put them on when leaving the house. In these entrance halls, there is usually a shoe rack where residents place their footwear.
To enter the house, you wear a shoe called uwabaki or a slipper called surippa. People avoid stepping barefoot or in socks on the lower part of the genkan.
The Culture of Genkan
The genkan is found in all Japanese homes and also in schools, government buildings, castles, traditional restaurants, bathhouses, and any building that has tatami or not.
In public places like schools, they are equipped with lockers for students to place their sneakers and wear the appropriate footwear to walk inside the school. In some places, a shoe called uwabaki [上履き] or surippa [スリッパ] is used.
This is the entrance where people can hide from the rain or where the pizza delivery person and vendors stay. The genkan can be found both externally and internally. Most of the time, there is a door followed by the entrance hall.
Usually, from the genkan, there is a step that leads into the establishment or house. This entrance hall also ends up being a strategic location for cats to invade your home and steal food.
There is a culture involving this entrance of Japanese homes. Upon arriving at the house, we make a formal greeting and walk to the internal concrete floor called tataki.
When invited to enter the house, we need to take off our shoes and step up to the shikidai (wooden floor). In these traditional houses, you access the yoritsuki (a room reserved for visitors).
The History of Genkan
It is believed that the custom of taking off shoes before entering the house is over a thousand years old, since prehistory, the Japanese made their houses on an elevated floor. It has continued to the present day, even after the westernization of the Japanese house.
Traditionally, the genkan involved the entrance of zen temples, so much so that the word represents the idea of deep knowledge. Over time, samurai began to build these entry areas in their homes, and today it has become something mandatory in all houses.
There is a great symbolism involving the interior and exterior of the house, so much so that there are different types of genkan specific throughout Japanese history. This access area is considered the most prestigious part of the house!
Besides shoes, you should leave umbrellas, coats, hats, and other objects that do not need to enter the house. It is worth remembering that it is not only in the genkan that we end up changing shoes; some houses use special footwear to access areas like the bathroom.
Westerners also tend to use an Entrance Hall even if for other purposes. We suggest trying to create a Entrance Hall at home even with little space. In it, you can store clothes, hats, umbrellas, outdoor use objects, and much more.
We recommend reading:
- Are Japanese houses really small?
- Apartment in Japan – Is it small or practical?
- 14 classic features of Japanese houses
Videos about Genkan
I hope you enjoyed this article, what do you think of the Entrance Hall? We appreciate comments and shares. To finish, check out some videos about the traditional Japanese Entrance Hall:
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