four directions but is more pyramidal in shape. The primary purpose of shaping roofs was to accommodate the extensive precipitation experienced in many parts of Japan. A steeply peaked roof allows rain and snow to fall straight off, preventing water from getting through the roof into the home and, to a lesser extent, preventing the thatch from getting too wet and beginning to rot. At the peak and other places where roof sections came together decorations were added. Thatched roofs would have trimmed or transverse layers of straw, bamboo poles or planks of wood. Tiled roofs have a variety of decorative plates to the ends of the ridge, for example, (fish). They also had circular plates to the ends of the tiles at the eaves called that helped to deflect rain. Farmhouse interior The deep eaves of the farmhouse roof helped to protect the interior from driving rain. They stop the sun from entering the interior during the summer, and they allow the low rays of sun to warm the house during the winter. Often there is a timber-floored veranda () around the house under the eaves and protected on the outside by storm shutters. In areas where there is heavy snow there may be a lowered earth-floored area outside the veranda further protected by shutters which helps to stop snow from blowing inside. The interior of a was generally divided into two sections: a floor of compacted earth, called a (the precursor to a Genkan) and a raised floor (generally around 20 inches (50 cm) above the level of the ), called a , and, in larger, richer houses, an area or set of rooms covered in tatami or mats, called a . Large farmhouses sometimes had a raised, timber-floored internal veranda () that separated the and the areas. In older houses, like the 17th century Yoshimura house, this separating zone was up to 2.5 m wide and servants apparently slept there. The raised floor often included a built-in hearth, called an . Above the ash-filled hearth would hang a kettle suspended from the ceiling by an adjustable hearth hook made of wood, metal and bamboo. This could be raised or lowered depending on the amount of heat required and was often shaped into decorative fish or blade shapes. There was no chimney in the farmhouse and the smoke from the irori would rise through the roof drying the