What amahaji means
Amahaji is the space in traditional Okinawan houses beneath deeply projecting eaves whose outer edge is carried on posts called amahaji-bashira. It shields the interior from strong sun and heavy rain and, together with the veranda, serves as an in-between space linking the house with the yard.
Okinawan houses typically have red-tiled hipped roofs and rooms divided into the ichibanza, nibanza and so on. The amahaji runs along the front or around the house; deeper than a Hisashi and carried on posts, it forms a semi-outdoor space that is a major feature of the exterior.
Reading the records and the house
Records give the sides along which the amahaji runs. The main house of the Agarie family on Yonaguni, Okinawa, hipped and roofed in Ryukyu red tiles, has an amahaji along its front and rooms comprising the first and second main rooms, their rear rooms and a kitchen, preserving the traditional form and fittings of the Yaeyama region. The former Uezato family house at Okinawa World in Nanjo, a single-storey hipped building with traditional tiles, has an amahaji on all sides except the west face of the rear room, the form of a traditional Okinawan house. The main house of the Yagi family in Yaese, hipped with red tiles bedded in plaster, has an amahaji along its south and east sides.
On site, look for posts carrying the eave edge standing clear of the walls with a roofed walkway inside them, and check against the record whether it runs along the front only or around the house.
References
- 東迎家住宅主屋｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006957
- おきなわワールド旧上里家住宅主屋｜文化遺産オンライン
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/187063
- 屋宜家住宅主屋｜文化遺産オンライン
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/164831
Last verified: 2026.09.27