noun
tiny house about nine feet wide and twelve feet deep
Historical term for a very small, humble dwelling. The name comes from the dimensions: 九尺 (about 2.7 m) frontage and 二間 (about 3.6 m) depth. Used in contexts describing old Edo-period tenements or modest homes.
江戸時代、貧しい人々は九尺二間の長屋に住んでいた。
In the Edo period, poor people lived in tiny tenement houses called kushaku niken.
長屋 is a row house or tenement, while 九尺二間 specifically refers to the very small size of such a dwelling.
Compound of 九尺 (kushaku, 'nine shaku') and 二間 (niken, 'two ken'), referring to the typical frontage and depth of a small Edo-period tenement house.