Building types and layout

There are two types of typical Okinawan houses: wood-framed houses, known as Nuchijya, and cave-type houses called Anaya.
A long time ago, the type of house—the size and building materials—was determined according to the class of the people living there.

• ・ Jitude's House (Manor Lords)
  This is the house of the jitude, who during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom, acted on behalf of landlords and was responsible for local administration.
  
• ・ Uezuke House Layout
  This house plan was the model for the jitude's house in the village.

Differences in the layout of houses

The layout of eight private dwellings in an old village are shown.
As you can see, the layout of each building is significantly different depending on the era and the class of the people that lived there. Older houses can characteristically be seen having the kitchen and main building separated on the property. Built in a style called anaya, they were often straw-thatched houses constructed with small logs.
Modern houses will generally have the kitchen built into the main building, and there was an increase in the number of rooms in general. There was also the enforced regulation of red roof tiles, which are fairly characteristic of this era.