Shoin-zukuri, style of Japanese domestic architecture. The name is taken from a secondary feature called the shoin, a study alcove. The shoin, tokonoma (alcove for the display of art objects), and chigai-dana (shelves built into the wall) are all formative elements of this style, which appeared in the Kamakura period (1192–1333) and derived from Zen Buddhist monastic dwellings. The style gradually developed during the Muromachi period (1338–1573) with the gradual extinction of the shinden style (see shinden-zukuri). The shoin-zukuri (literally, “shoin style”) is characterized by a new