In October 1959, Daiwa House began selling the Midget House, a small prefabricated building. Among its development conditions were an area of no more than three tsubo, about 10 square meters, and a building time of no more than three hours.
The idea came from the wish to give children a separate study room at home. At launch, a six-mat version cost 118,000 yen and a four-and-a-half-mat version 108,000 yen.