{"id":1444,"date":"2010-02-01T23:42:11","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T14:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-02-01\/1444"},"modified":"2010-02-01T23:42:11","modified_gmt":"2010-02-01T14:42:11","slug":"steep-steps-in-gokayama-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2010-02-01\/1444","title":{"rendered":"Steep Steps in Gokayama Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In my\n“Hot Noodles in Gokayama<\/a>” post the other day, I ended<\/span> with this photo....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInterior of Restaurant “Yohachi”<\/span>\nGokayama Village, Toyama Prefecture, Japan\n<\/div>\n\n

... and posed the question as to what the tall slanted wooden brace was\nfor. Of course, it's a set<\/span> of stairs, but I thought<\/span> the incredible\nsteepness might throw some off.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>25 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCloser to a Leaning<\/span> Ladder<\/span>\nthan a set of stairs\n<\/div>\n\n

The stringers on these are obviously new, but the house dates to the\n1880s, and these stairs match perfectly the contemporary description in Japanese Homes\nand Their Surroundings<\/a> by Edward Morse (published in 1886, based on\nobservations made from 1877-1880). In it, he writes:<\/p>\n\n

A stairway<\/span> incorporated into the structure of a building<\/span> and\nclosed below I have<\/span> never seen in Japan; nor is there any approach to the\nbroad, low steps and landings or spiral staircases such as we are familiar\nwith in American houses. If the house<\/span> be of two stories the staircase\nassumes the form of a rather<\/span> precipitous step-ladder; that is, it has two\nside-pieces, or strings, in which the steps, consisting of thick plank, are\nmortised. This ladder is so steeply inclined that one has to step sideways\nin ascending, otherwise his knee would strike the step above. Rarely is\nthere any convenience to hold on by: if present, however, this consists of\na strip<\/span> of wood fastened to the wall, or a rope<\/span> is secured in the same way. The front<\/span> of the step is open, — that is, there is no riser; but if\nthe back of the steps face an open room, then slats of wood are nailed on\nbehind.<\/blockquote>\n\n

(My gratitude to Peter\nBarnes<\/a> in Wales, my blog's resident botanist, for recommending\nthis book to me<\/a>. It's been a<\/span> delight<\/i> to read, and I will<\/span> be\nposting about it sometime soon.)<\/p>\n\n

The only difference with these stairs is that there is no wood nailed on\nto the room-facing back, because the houses in Gokayama Village – as\nI mentioned in the\nintroduction<\/a> – are built without nails. Similar to the\nconstruction in the big wooden gear<\/a> I\nonce<\/span> posted about, all of the steps are mortised into the risers, but four\nof them extend partway through to allow a linchpin<\/span> to hold the riser\nfast.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 6400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPegged<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

One could dismantle the stairs in very short order: just knock out the\nfour wooden pins and pull the riser away. I don't<\/span> suppose this would happen\noften; perhaps only when moving the house or repairing the stairs, so maybe\nevery hundred or so years? I don't<\/span> know.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“Yohachi<\/a>”<\/span>\n— the best soba I've ever had —\n<\/div>\n\n

Back outside, Anthony again reveled in the snow.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 62 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJust Outside the Restaurant<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 56 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPosing for a Photo<\/span> Op<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my \"Hot Noodles in Gokayama\" post the other day, I ended with this photo....<\/p>

... and posed the question as to what the tall slanted wooden brace was for. Of course, it's a set of stairs, but I thought the incredible steepness might throw some off.<\/p>

The stringers on these are obviously new, but the house dates to the 1880s, and these stairs match perfectly the contemporary description in Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings by Edward Morse (published in 1886, based on observations made from 1877-1880). In it, he writes:<\/p> A stairway incorporated into the structure of a building [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}