As for internal structure, Japanese houses are not like traditional Chinese residences where the rooms face each other across a central axis. In Japanese houses the focus is on the zashiki (something like a parlor) and the ima (living room), which functions as backup zashiki space.
隔間上，日本房舍不像中國傳統住宅有著強烈的中軸線對應關係；室內以「座敷」（相當於客廳或神明廳），以及做為座敷備用空間的「居間」為主。