Okinawa

week2

     Hello!
     I will tell you about the house of Okinawa.
     First, characteristics on the appearance of traditional houses in Okinawa are that the color of the roof is red, that the house is surrounded by a stone wall and a hedge, and that the screen for the blindfold which is called "Hinpun" instead of the gate is standing. "Hinpun" has three important roles. One of them is an amulet because it is said that something bad can not turn a corner. In addition, "Hinpun" has the purpose of preventing a direct wind and of the physical blindfold. Moreover, there are Okinawan lion statues which is called "Shisa" on the roof of the houses in Okinawa. It is used as talisman against evil. A male Okinawan lion statue has a mouth open and a female Okinawan lion statue has a mouth closed.

     Second, characteristics of traditional houses in Okinawa are that it is designed to suit the season.  When you hear the Okinawa, you think as if Okinawa were in summer all year round, but that is not true. Okinawa is the path of the typhoon from summer to autumn, especially, so the houses of Okinawa have a lot of measures against typhoon. Red tiles of the roof of the house in Okinawa is fixed with plaster, and the height of the house in Okinawa is low and the house of Okinawa by surrounded by a stone wall and windbreaks such as a garcinia spicata, a indian laurel and a yew plum pine in order to avoid as much wind resistance as possible. Here I will introduce the wisdom of measures against typhoon of the people of Okinawa. A strong typhoon comes to Okinawa, so a clothesline sometimes even flies. Flying a clothesline in the sky is dangerous and is as if a spear of the javelin throw flies. Therefore, the people of Okinawa fix firmly a clothesline to a clothes-drying platform with string or wire in order not to fly. They also fix trunks and branches of garden trees. The following is a glass window. The people of Okinawa set up a glass-filled iron wire which is able to stand up to high winds, or stick enhancement films or grates. If there is a gap in the window in the old house, the people of Okinawa plunge magazines into the gap and fill the gap. They nail plates to wooden shutters like old cartoons.
     Third, the houses of Okinawa have a water tank on the rooftop. Okinawa is a water shortage area historically. The reason for this is the climate of Okinawa and the population density. The palateau of Okinawa is composed of the palateau of coral reefs, which have low water-holding capacity. So rain in Okinawa flows out to sea immediately without being stored. In addittion, the population density in the center of the city of Okinawa is as high as that of Tokyo. As a result, Okinawa is a water shortage area.
     Finally, I will tell you about recent houses of Okinawa. Recent houses of Okinawa are a concrete building. That they have in common with traditional houses in Okinawa is that Okinawan lion statues exist on the roof or the pillars of the gate, and that the houses are surrounded by a stone wall and windbreaks. Red tiles of this picture are an imitation and are concrete tiles colored red.