1.
dirt floor
an earthen or unfloored entrance area in a traditional Japanese house
土間で靴を脱ぐ。
Take off your shoes in the entryway.
古い民家には土間がある。
Old traditional houses have dirt-floored entryways.
土間から上がって座敷に通る。
Step up from the dirt floor area and pass into the tatami room.
土間 refers to an earthen-floored area found in traditional Japanese architecture.
TRADITIONAL JAPANESE HOUSE:
In traditional Japanese homes, the 土間 is the entrance area at ground level with a packed earth or concrete floor. Visitors remove their shoes here before stepping up (上がる) to the wooden or tatami-floored living areas.
FUNCTIONS:
- Entry point where shoes are removed
- In farmhouses: workspace for agricultural tasks, cooking
- In merchant homes: reception area for customers
MODERN USAGE:
- Modern homes still have an entry area (usually called 玄関)
- 土間 specifically refers to traditional earth-floored spaces
- Some modern designs revive 土間 as a design element
ARCHITECTURAL TERMS:
- 三和土: Packed earth floor (specific type of 土間)
- 上がり框: The step/threshold from 土間 to floored area
RELATED TERMS:
- 玄関: Entryway (modern term)
- 上がる: To step up (from 土間 to floor)
REGISTER: Neutral. Architectural/cultural term.