Seating Arrangements

There has always been a distinct class structure in society in Japan, but during the Edo Period , it became very strict and could be clearly seen. Even in the castles, the seating arrangements in the rooms symbolized one’s status. Representative sitting arrangements have been a very old practice in Japan. The descending order of highest to lowest levels for seating arrangements is the jodan, chudan, and gedan.

The shoin style architecture was developed during the Momoyama period. It was a type of residential architecture which is known for its reception rooms where guests were received. This style can be seen in many castles to serve the purpose of receiving the Tokugawa shoguns of the time. During the earlier years of the Edo Period , this type of architecture was common, especially in the Nijo , Osaka , and Edo Castles. The three castles were decorated with a tokonuma, (a raise alcove where paintings or valuable objects were displayed), chigaidana, (interconnected shelves with different levels of elevation), and tsukeshoin, (a small study attached to a room). The highest ranking person in the room, whether he was the owner of the castle or not, sat in the highest level with the tokonuma behind him. The chigaidana would be in the center of another alcove next to the highest ranking person. The tsukeshoin would be at the right angles of the tokonuma and chigaidana.

Thought the tokonuma, chigaindana, and tsukeshoin helped distinguish the high ranking of one’s status, the most obvious architectural detail that distinguished social classes was the jodan. For example, in the Nijo Castle’s ohiroma, (audience hall), there are no fusuma (wooden panels) that separate the jodan and gedan. The jodan has forty-eight tatami mats while the gedan has forty-four. Tatami are woven straw mats which cover the wooden floors of the rooms. Since there are no fusuma to distinguish between the jodan and gedan, two other architectural details are used. One is the black-lacquered sill and the other is the kokabe. The kokabe is a small wall that comes down from the ceiling between the two sections. The beam at the bottom of this partial wall is called an otoshigake.

In the Nijo Castle and Edo Castle , even more distinctions were made by placing more tatami mats on the jodan sections of the room. The shogun and his heir used these additional tatami mats as their seats. Another example for using different seating levels in rooms is the Edo Castle. Its audience hall was divided into three section, the jodan, chudan, and gedan. The people sitting in each of these levels determined their rank in society. Even the gifts each one brought had a specific place it was set.