The size of a house represents many things: the assets of the owner, for example, or a set of values that this person harbours in relation to the house. Some people think that the bigger a house is, the better, while others prize a certain aesthetic that can be found within a smaller dwelling. The standard dimensions of a house also differ according to the country and region. When a Japanese person goes overseas, he or she is astonished to find that houses there are twice as big. Or, sometimes the most surprising thing about visiting older, historical houses is their size. It is not difficult to find a house – whether old, new, in Japan or abroad – that is bigger even than the public buildings we know today. People tend to lump all of these issues together and talk about the size of houses in terms of residential scale. In fact, however, the dimensions of a house are relative: they are deeply rooted in the society, culture, and history of each place.