1.
row house; tenement; long house (traditional Japanese)
A long, single-story building divided into several homes in a row, each with its own entrance; common in Edo-period towns.
A type of traditional Japanese dwelling where multiple housing units share continuous walls under one long roof. Composed of 長 (long) and 屋 (building, house). They were the standard housing for commoners in Edo-period cities and symbolize the tight-knit community life of that era.
Common collocations
Cultural note
長屋 are a fixture of 落語 (traditional comic storytelling), where they serve as the setting for humorous tales of Edo-period commoners. The expression 長屋の花見 is a famous 落語 story about tenement dwellers improvising a cherry blossom viewing party.