Resuming our description of interiors, a peculiar form of room is shown in the house of a gentleman of high rank (_fig. 119_). Here the _tokonoma_ was much larger than its companion recess, which in this case was next to the verandah. The _chigai-dana_ was small and low, and the spaces beneath the shelves were enclosed by sliding screens forming cupboards. The _tokonoma_ was large and deep, and its floor was covered by a mat or _tatami;_ the flower-vase was at one side.
[Fig. 120.--Guest-room, with recesses in corners.]
Fig. 120.--Guest-room, with recesses in corners.
The depth of the _tokonoma_ is generally governed by the size of the room. The appointments of this recess are also always in proportion,--the pictures and flower-vase being of large size in the one just described.
[Fig. 121.--Guest-room showing circular window.]
Fig. 121.--Guest-room showing circular window.
In a spacious hall in Tokio is a _tokonoma_ six feet in depth, and very wide. The flower-vases and pictures in this recess were colossal. In an adjoining room to the one last figured the _tokonoma_ came in one corner of the room, and the _chigai-dana_ was at right angles with it. To the right of the _tokonoma_ was a permanent partition, in the centre of which was a circular window closed by _shoji_ which parted right and left. The _shoji_ may have run within the partition, or rested in a grooved frame on the other side of the wall. Above this circular window and near the ceiling was a long rectangular window, also having _shoji,_ which could be open for ventilation. To the left of the _chigai-dana_ was a row of deep cupboards enclosed by a set of sliding screens; above was a broad shelf, upon the upper surface of which ran _shoji,_ which when opened revealed another room beyond. The frieze of this recess had a perforated design of waves (_fig. 120_).
Severe and simple as a Japanese room appears to be, it may be seen by this figure how many features for decorative display come in. The ornamental openings or windows with their varied lattices, the sliding screens and the cupboards with their rich sketches of landscapes and trees, the natural woods, indeed many of these features might plainly be adopted without modification for our rooms.