In minka, the rear (haigo 背後) entry and exit (de-iri-guchi 出入口) that corresponds to the western ‘back door’ or ‘kitchen door’ (katte-guchi 勝手口) is generally called the sedo-guchi (背戸口, lit. ‘back door mouth’) or ura-guchi (裏口, lit. ‘rear mouth’). In its simplest form, it is a single sliding board door (ita-do 板戸) of half a ken (around 90cm) in width, but to bring light into the interior, many sedo-guchi are ‘waisted shо̄ji’ (koshi-daka shо̄ji 腰高障子) doors whose upper portion is papered lattice (shо̄ji 障子), with an external shutter box (to-bukuro 戸袋) that houses an ita-do that is closed at night to cover the shо̄ji.
In minka of the ‘inside stable’ (uchi-maya 内厩) type, where a stable (umaya 厩) is established in a corner of the earth-floored utility area (doma 土間), a separate entry for livestock is provided, but in warm-climate regions this is mostly left open, with nothing but a simple pole or poles (bо̄ 棒) dropped across the opening, called a mase (馬柵, lit. ‘horse fence’) or masenbо̄ (馬柵ん棒). In livestock-raising farmhouses in cold-climate regions such as Tо̄hoku (東北), double swing (ryо̄-biraki-do 両開き戸) panel doors (kara-do 唐戸, lit. ‘Tang door’), constructed of stiles and rails (san 桟) and board panels (ita 板), are hung on vertical ‘axle’ (jiku 軸) hinges.
Mase (馬柵) or masenbо̄ (馬柵ん棒) across the entrance of a modern stable (umaya 厩).
In the L-plan (magari-ya 曲り屋) minka of the Nanbu region (Nanbu-chihо̄ 南部地方), consisting of the eastern half of Aomori Prefecture, northern and central Iwate Prefecture, and the north-eastern corner of Akita Prefecture, the main everyday or utility entrance, called the о̄do-guchi (大戸口 ‘big door opening’), is located on the ‘in side’ of the projecting magari-ya (the short leg of the L), in the internal corner formed by the L; this entry is called the hora-mae (ほらまえ or 洞前, lit. ‘hollow/cavity front’); the livestock (gyūba 牛馬, lit. ‘cattle horse’) entry-exit (de-iri 出入り) is located in front of it. Typically the sedo-guchi is located on the rear side of the main volume of the building (the omo-ya 主屋), serving the every day ‘living room’ (jо̄i 常居); it is also called the kita no guchi (北の口). There is also a ‘kitchen door’, called the ura no guchi (裏の口, ‘rear door’) that serves the part of the earth-floored utility area (niwa にわ or doma 土間) where the stove (kamado 竃) installed, opposite the hora-mae. A ‘verandah’ (en 縁 or engawa 縁側) runs along the front, and sometimes around the side, of the omo-ya, and serves as the formal entry, called the hando-mae among other names, to the formal rooms (zashiki 座敷).
A magari-ya plan, showing: the everyday hora-mae entrance, here simply called the iri-guchi (入口, ‘entrance’); the sedo no guchi (背戸の口) to the ‘living room’ (jо̄i 常居); the ura-no-guchi (裏の口) to the ‘kitchen’ part of the earth floored niwa (ニワ) or doma (土間) containing the stove (kamado 竃); and the formal entry to the front formal room (omote-zashiki 表座敷), on the ‘verandah’ (engawa 縁側).
Another magari-ya plan, similar to the one above, but here with a wraparound ‘verandah’ (engawa えんがわ), called a mawari-en (廻り縁).
In the L-plan chūmon-zukuri (中門造り) minka of Akita Prefecture, there is an о̄do-no-kuchi at the/one end of the the short leg of the L (the chūmon 中門), and a simple genkan-gamae called the toriko-no-kuchi (とりこの口) is built in front of the ‘living room’ (cha-no-ma 茶の間) of the main volume of the building; in the past, the toriko-no-kuchi was a shitomi-do style (shitomi-do keishiki 蔀戸形式) opening, with top-hung, out-swinging, dense-lattice doors called shitomi-do (蔀戸). The о̄do-no-kuchi was also used as the livestock entry; the sedo-guchi is called the ura-no-kuchi (裏のくち, lit. ‘rear mouth’).
In ‘deep snow’ regions there is a often a projecting, gabled porch-style ‘snow averting eave’ (yuki-yoke hisashi 雪除庇 or seppi 雪庇) above the entrance. Sometimes this is a temporary device fitted only in the winter months; in other cases it has become a permanent fixture. It is called a shirashi (しらし) in the Tsugaru (津軽) region, shishigura (ししぐら) or fubasami (ふばさみ) in Akita (秋田), amaya (あまや) in Yamagata (山形), sashi (さし) in Etchū Gokayama (越中五箇山), and о̄ya (おおや) in Togatani (利賀谷). In the residences of village heads (nanushi-yashiki 名主屋敷) and the like, there are regions in which, because white gravel or pebble (hakushū or shirasu, written 白州, lit. ‘white province/sandbank’ or 白洲 lit. ‘white island/sandbar’) is laid down in front of the ‘big genkan’ (о̄-genkan/dai-genkan 大玄関) in place of a timber board shikidai (式台), and simple gardening or cultivation is carried out there, the garden in front of this entry is called the oshirasu (おしらす); the word shirashi used in Tsugaru is also thought to derive from this association.