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Genkan of a residence in Japan, viewed from outside looking in.

Genkan, viewed from inside looking out.

Genkan (玄関^?) are traditional Japanese entryway areas for a house, apartment, or building—something of a combination of a porch and a doormat. The primary function of genkan is for the removal of shoes before entering the main part of the house or building. Genkan are often recessed into the floor, to contain any dirt that is tracked in from the outside (as in a mud room). The tiled or concrete genkan floor is called tataki (三和土).

Upon entry, shoes are usually turned to face the door so they can be slipped on easily when leaving or placed into a getabako. After removing shoes, one must avoid stepping in the genkan in socks or with bare feet, to avoid bringing dirt into the house. Once inside, generally one will change into slippers, or shoes intended for indoor wear (Uwabaki).

Genkan are also occasionally found in other buildings in Japan, especially in old-fashioned businesses. In schools and sentō (public baths), genkan are equipped with shoe lockers or cubby holes.

History[link]

The custom of removing one's shoes before entering the house is believed to go back over one thousand years to the pre-historical era of elevated-floor structures. It has continued to the present, even after the westernization of the Japanese home, which began in the Meiji period (1868–1912).^[1]

South Korea[link]

In South Korea, a genkan is known as hyeongwan (현관), and is likewise near-universal in private homes (as well as certain older buildings and jjimjilbang).

See also[link]

• Entryway

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Genkan

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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since December 2008. It may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since December 2008. It needs attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Anime and manga/Biography may be able to help recruit one. Tagged since February 2009.

Takao Aoki (青木 たかお, Aoki Takao^?) is a Japanese Mangaka^[1] from Tochigi Prefecture.

Career[link]

Aoki went to Chiyoda Art school and took a special course in manga. He currently resides in Kamakura, Kanagawa. He works for Shogakukan. His new manga is called "X-Zone". He has worked on character designs on several video games. He creates manga published in Shogakukan magazine. There are rumors that he made a Zoids manga known as "Tekkai!Zoids".^{[citation needed]}

Works[link]

Aoki's best known work is Beyblade, which became a franchise around children who battle with spinning tops. He also made "Bakufu Slash;Kizna", "A War Story of Metal Walker" and "Mini-4WD Fighter V". Most of Aoki's manga revolve around video games or toys.

• Bakuten Shoot Beyblade = Beigoma (a Japanese spinning top game)
• Bakufu Slash! Kizna Arashi = Based on the PS2 video game. In this game, a boy named Arashi (who has a minor resemblance to Naruto) who has a blue dragon as a monster partner which he controls with an item called the Demon Seal Nail. Arashi's element is wind as he has a white cloth on his arm as proof of his element. His rival is Enn, who has a dragon named Blade and has a fire element with a flame on his arm as proof of his element. His girlfriend is named Mika. This is an SCEJ game only released in Japan. The official site is http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/kizna/index.html
• A War Story of Metal Walker = Based on the computer game
• Mini-4WD Fighter = Based on the car racing game

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site

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