【Reading】がれーじ

【English Name】Garage

Garage refers to a facility for storing automobiles. In Japanese it is also called "shako" (garage/car shed), and in the authority data of the National Diet Library, the notation "garaaji" is also recorded as an alternative name.

In the United States, it is said to have begun in the latter half of the 19th century when stables were converted into places to keep cars. Eventually, built-in garages integrated with residences became widespread, and as spaces isolated from the outside, there are many examples of them being used as music studios and workshops. Cultural expressions such as "garage band" and "garage rock" also derive from this. The "garage sale," in which unwanted items are sold cheaply in front of the garage, is also a custom that originated in the U.S.

In Japan, under a law enacted in 1962 (Showa 37), automobile owners bear the obligation to secure a storage location off the road. This law is commonly called the "Garage Law" or "Shako Law." When registering an ordinary automobile, a procedure to prove that the storage location is within 2 km in a straight line from the base of use—the so-called "garage certificate" (shako shomei)—is required. Note that in some municipalities a garage certificate is not required in rural areas, and the scope of the system's application is not uniform.