Happy New Year! Are you warm enough?

In the Willow's Shadow - News from Flower City
柳の陰で花街新聞
(10/01/20)

Happy New Year!
I'm excited about for the year ahead!

Are you warm enough?
How do you stay warm?

Winter is cold in the eastern US and people heat the air in their houses in order to stay warm.

In traditional eastern American houses, people don't take off their shoes when they go inside. Yet, it is clear when Americans enter a house. Outside, in "nature," it is cold; inside, in the house, it is significantly warmer.

The traditional building style of many houses in the eastern US can be traced to traditional houses in Europe. There, walls are very thick and made of stone or brick, or wattle and daub (a mixture of soil, straw, and animal dung, held in place by wooden strips). The houses of commoners were very small, often one room; one hearth could heat the whole room. The houses of the rich had large rooms that, even with fireplaces, were often cold.

In the twentieth century, with the use of electric, gas, or oil powered air conditioners, houses were built with thin walls and large rooms. Cheap energy meant that houses could be heated with large rooms and thin walls.

Here, in Kyoto, many old houses have thin walls made from wood, paper, or glass. The walls easily slide open, and there is often a gap above the wall. The garden is also mixed in with the house. For many Americans on their first trip to Japan, it seems hard to know where "inside" starts or "outside" ends.

People here in Kyoto do use gas, oil, and electric heaters and air conditioners, but in a house designed in the traditional style, heating all the air of the room is very difficult. The warm air escapes very quickly!

Instead, people heat the floor, the carpet, the blanket, the table, and themselves with baths and personal "kairo" heat packs. After going to the bath, even a very cold house seems warm!

明けましておめでとうございます！
今年も宜しくお願いします!

寒くないですか？

どうやってあつくなりますか？

USの東の冬は寒いですが人は元気のように家の空気をheatしますよ

アメリカの東の伝統的な家で入り時に靴をぬぎません。でも、アメリカ人は入りの時わかりますよ。外は自然と言う場所。そこは寒いです。内は家の中の場所。内の方があたたかいです。

大抵USの東の伝統的な家の建築はもともとヨーロパの建築ですね。ヨーロパの伝統的な建築で壁はあついです。壁の材料は石やブリックや wattle and daubと言うまぜた事。ふつの人の家はちさいーひとつのへやはふつでした。一つのストーブがそのへやheatできます。お金持ちの家は広くてさむい。

２０せきで安いgasやoilや電気でエアコンの使いかたで家の壁はうすく成っていてへやは広くなっていました。

ここ、京都で古い町家の壁はたいてい木か紙かglassで作っているだと思います。壁は開けやすい。壁の上にも空館があります。庭と家はまぜています。多分、アメリカ人は日本の始めて旅行で外と内の所あまりわかりません。

京都の人もエアコンとストーブ使っているけど伝統的な家の空気のあつく成る事は本当にむずかしい。あたたかい空気はつぐ出そうするし！

けども、ここで人は床もカーペットも毛布もこたつも自分の体もheatしていますね。かいろとお風呂で自分はつぐheatできます。お風呂の後で寒いな家でも暖かい感じですね！