anteroom; antechamber; waiting room
A room adjacent to a main room, used for waiting or as a preparation area. Common in traditional Japanese architecture, temples, and formal settings.
The visitor was made to wait for a while in the anteroom.
There is an anteroom beside the Noh stage.
Compound of 控え (hika-e, 'waiting, reserve') and 間 (ma, 'room'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has been used since the Edo period for waiting rooms in samurai residences and traditional buildings.