Hen na Ie - Vol. 7 Ch. 30

[arkvin]

Based on the front elevation and the plans of the house:

• It has a vestibule at the main entrance which is directly above the balcony.
• Adjacent to the vestibule is a high ceiling foyer that is typical for houses that has grand staircase.
• I noticed that an attic window or a high window located around the grandmother's room probably for ventilation.
• One thing that confuses me is the rooms located on the left and right of the entrance. There are two possibilities for these rooms. Either they are high-ceiling rooms or they have stairs leading to the second floor so that the proportions of the facade looks more consistent. (I would also like to see the view from the top of the staircase looking toward the main entrance so I can verify my assumptions)
• The house is built on a higher ground. Maybe there is a basement.

 

[fight2live]

was he trying to be philosophical with that "what is anmitsu" bullshit? it's like saying "no such thing as mayonnaise. it's just a mix of oil, egg, and acid." call me stupid but i still think that was the dumbest thing kurihara ever said

 

[lemon-dono]

Pretty sure you don't. I've seen lots of rich person houses with inaccessible decorative balconies like that. Sometimes they're even on the inside.
Mansions used to be large so Staff (and visiting family) could live there but they don't do that anymore so nowadays it's all about looking big with lots of wasted space they don't know what to do with.

Hmmm... starting to think having rich people is a mistake.

 

[Tsama0]

was he trying to be philosophical with that "what is anmitsu" bullshit? it's like saying "no such thing as mayonnaise. it's just a mix of oil, egg, and acid." call me stupid but i still think that was the dumbest thing kurihara ever said

It's a philosophical concept that's apparently called mereology, it's been debated for over a thousand years. Questions like, how many grains of sand do you need until it's considered a heap. So I believe your mayonnaise example is actually an example of that. I hesitate to call it dumb, but... I personally struggle to find anything interesting about it.

I'm pretty sure it's just the author attacking the question "what is a house" from multiple angles. The first chapter in vol 6 goes for a more linguistic angle (how the word house relates to family or lineage). Earlier in vol 7, Kurihara defines house in economic terms ("it's a commodity"), and now he's looking at it in more philosophical terms.