What mushiko-mado means
A mushiko-mado is a window formed by a row of narrow vertical openings cut into the clay-and-plaster wall of the upper floor at the front of a townhouse or farmhouse. Each bar is made by wrapping a wooden core with rope and clay and plastering it over, so wall and window read as one continuous plastered surface. The name is usually explained as a likeness to an insect cage, and it is also written with different characters for the same sound.
The window typically goes with a low upper floor. The Tsushi-nikai of a Machiya was a storey with a low ceiling used for storage or as sleeping space for servants, and the mushiko-mado brought light and air into it. Records often mention the two together; the Tanaka family house, for instance, is described as having a low upper storey with mushiko-mado opened in its front.
The feature also belongs with fronts plastered right up to the eaves, the Nuriya-zukuri manner. The record for the main house of Harinakano Nakano Acupuncture says the outer walls are plastered up to the eave soffits with mushiko-mado cut through them, and a similar house of the Tanaka family in Hirakata is described in almost the same words. Covering the whole front, window included, with clay and plaster made it resistant to fire.
Telling it apart from related windows
The material of the bars and their position relative to the wall separate it from neighbouring types. The bars of a mushiko-mado are plastered clay and sit flush with the wall. Degōshi is a timber lattice projecting out from the wall face, usually on the ground floor. Renji-mado is a window of slender wooden uprights set at even intervals, common on temples, shrines and houses.
The same window also appears on gates and outbuildings of the same property. The record for the gatehouse of the Tanaka family in Hirakata says its front is plastered up to the eaves with mushiko-mado cut through it, matching the main house.
On site, a row of vertical slits in the white plastered wall of an upper floor can safely be read as mushiko-mado. The number and shape of the openings vary from house to house, and besides plain rectangles some have rounded ends. Many were later glazed or boarded up from inside, so the date of the record should be kept in mind when considering the original appearance.
References
- 針中野中野鍼主屋｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013139
- 田中家住宅主屋（枚方市）｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012584
- 田中家住宅主屋｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005638
- 田中家住宅長屋門（枚方市）｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012589
Last verified: 2026.09.26