ABSTRACT
Japanese people still attribute bad luck or sickness to the faulty construction of their houses, in violation of the rules of kaso or house features. Irori or hearth was the heating system used in ancient days in all classes of dwelling houses in Japan. Of all toriis in Japan, the one at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima, in the Inland Sea, is probably the most famous, because it is the biggest in the country and stands in the sea. Doma or earth floor is an important part of the rural Japanese house. In some old cities, like Kyoto for instance, there are still many houses that have a long doma on one side of the house. Many districts facing the Northern Japan Sea are called yukiguni, because for almost three months these places are covered with ten to fifteen or more feet of snow.
