Minka

Minka (民家, literally "house of the people"^?) are vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles. In the context of the four divisions of society, minka were the dwellings of farmers, artisans, and merchants (i.e., the three non-samurai castes). This connotation no longer exists in the modern Japanese language, and any traditional Japanese-style residence of an appropriate age could be referred to as minka.

Minka are characterised by their basic structure, their roof structure and their roof shape. Minka developed through history with distinctive styles emerging in the Edo period.

The term minka literally means "houses of the people." It covers houses that accommodated a wide variety of people from farmers to village headmen, merchants and low level samurai.

Minka come in a wide range of styles and sizes, largely as a result of differing geographic and climatic conditions as well as the lifestyle of the inhabitants. They generally fall into one of four classifications: farmhouses nōka (農家^?) town houses machiya (町屋^?), fishermen's dwellings gyoka (漁家^?) and mountain dwellings sanka (山家^?).

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