Japanese architecture
Japanese architecture (日本建築, Nihon kenchiku) has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (
The earliest Japanese architecture was seen in prehistoric times in simple pit-houses and stores adapted to the needs of a hunter-gatherer population. Influence from Han dynasty China via Korea saw the introduction of more complex grain stores and ceremonial burial chambers.
The introduction of
In 894 during the Heian period (794–1185), Japan abolished kentōshi (Japanese missions to Tang China) and began to distance itself from Chinese culture, and a culture called Kokufu bunka (lit., Japanese culture) which was suited to the Japanese climate and aesthetic sense flourished. The shinden-zukuri style, which was the architectural style of the residences of nobles in this period, showed the distinct uniqueness of Japanese architecture and permanently determined the characteristics of later Japanese architecture. Its features are an open structure with few walls that can be opened and closed with doors, shitomi and sudare, a structure in which shoes are taken off to enter the house on stilts, and sitting or sleeping directly on tatami mats without using chairs and beds.[1][2][3]
As the
The introduction of the tea ceremony emphasised simplicity and modest design as a counterpoint to the excesses of the aristocracy. In the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600), sukiya-zukuri style villas appeared under the influence of a tea house called chashitsu. At first it was an architectural style for the villas of daimyo (Japanese feudal lords) and court nobles, but in the Edo period (1683–1807) it was applied to ryōtei (Japanese-style restaurants) and chashitsu, and later it was also applied to residences.[6]
During the
General features of Japanese traditional architecture
In traditional Japanese architecture, there are various styles, features and techniques unique to Japan in each period and use, such as residence, castle, Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine. On the other hand, especially in ancient times, it was strongly influenced by Chinese culture like other Asian countries, so it has characteristics common to architecture in Asian countries.[8]
Partly due, also, to the variety of climates in Japan, and the millennium encompassed between the first cultural import and the last, the result is extremely heterogeneous, but several practically universal features can nonetheless be found. First of all is the choice of materials, always wood in various forms (planks, straw, tree bark, paper, etc.) for almost all structures. Unlike both Western and some
The general structure is almost always the same: posts and lintels support a large and gently curved roof, while the walls are paper-thin, often movable and never load-bearing. Arches and barrel roofs are completely absent. Gable and eave curves are gentler than in China and columnar entasis (convexity at the center) limited.[8]
The roof is the most visually impressive component, often constituting half the size of the whole edifice.
Inner space divisions are fluid, and room size can be modified through the use of screens or movable paper walls. The large, single space offered by the main hall can therefore be divided according to the need.[8] For example, some walls can be removed and different rooms joined temporarily to make space for some more guests. The separation between inside and outside is itself in some measure not absolute as entire walls can be removed, opening a residence or temple to visitors. Verandas appear to be part of the building to an outsider, but part of the external world to those in the building. Structures are therefore made to a certain extent part of their environment. Care is taken to blend the edifice into the surrounding natural environment.[8]
The use of construction modules keeps proportions between different parts of the edifice constant, preserving its overall harmony.
Even in cases as that of Nikkō Tōshō-gū, where every available space is heavily decorated, ornamentation tends to follow, and therefore emphasize, rather than hide, basic structures.[8]
Being shared by both sacred and profane architecture, these features made it easy converting a lay building into a temple or vice versa. This happened for example at Hōryū-ji, where a noblewoman's mansion was transformed into a religious building.
Prehistoric period
The prehistoric period includes the Jōmon, Yayoi and Kofun periods stretching from approximately 5000 BCE to the beginning of the eighth century CE.
During the three phases of the Jōmon period the population was primarily
During the Yayoi period, the Japanese people began to interact with the Chinese
The Kofun period marked the appearance of many-chambered burial mounds or
Towards the end of the Kofun period, tomb burials faded out as Buddhist cremation ceremonies gained popularity.[9]
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Reconstructed raised-floor building in Yoshinogari, Saga Prefecture, 2nd or 3rd century
-
Reconstructed pit dwelling houses in Yoshinogari
-
Reconstructed grain storehouse in Toro, Shizuoka
-
Reconstructed raised-floor building in Yoshinogari
Asuka and Nara architecture
The most significant contributor to architectural changes during the Asuka period was the introduction of Buddhism. New temples became centers of worship with tomb burial practices quickly becoming outlawed.[9] Also, Buddhism brought with it the idea of permanent shrines and gave to Shinto architecture much of its present vocabulary.
Some of the earliest structures still extant in Japan are Buddhist temples established at this time. The oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world are found at
-
Pagoda atNara, Nara
Originally built in 730 -
Hokkedō atNara, Nara
Founded in 743 -
Nara, Nara
Built in 8th century -
Golden Temple atNara, Nara
Built in 8th century
Heian period
Although the network of Buddhist temples across the country acted as a catalyst for an exploration of architecture and culture, this also led to the clergy gaining increased power and influence. Emperor Kanmu decided to escape this influence by moving his capital first to Nagaoka-kyō and then to Heian-kyō, known today as Kyōto. Although the layout of the city was similar to Nara's and inspired by Chinese precedents, the palaces, temples and dwellings began to show examples of local Japanese taste.[19]
Heavy materials like
The increasing size of buildings in the capital led to an architecture reliant on columns regularly spaced in accordance with the
In 894, Japan abolished kentōshi (Japanese missions to Tang China) and began to distance itself from Chinese culture, and a culture called Kokufu bunka (lit., Japanese culture) which was suited to the Japanese climate and aesthetic sense flourished. The shinden-zukuri style, which was the architectural style of the residences of nobles in this period, showed the distinct uniqueness of Japanese architecture and permanently determined the characteristics of later Japanese architecture. Its features are an open structure with few walls that can be opened and closed with doors and shitomi and sudare, a structure in which shoes are taken off to enter the house on stilts, sitting or sleeping directly on tatami mats without using chairs and beds, a roof made of laminated hinoki (Japanese cypress) bark instead of ceramic tiles, and a natural texture that is not painted on pillars.[1][2][3] A Buddhist architectural style called Wayō, which developed in accordance with the Japanese climate and aesthetic sense, was established.[22]
The priest Kūkai (best known by the posthumous title Kōbō Daishi, 774–835) journeyed to China to study Shingon, a form of Vajrayana Buddhism, which he introduced into Japan in 806. At the core of Shingon worship are the various mandalas, diagrams of the spiritual universe that influenced temple design.[9] The temples erected for this new sect were built in the mountains, far away from the court and the laity in the capital. The irregular topography of these sites forced their designers to rethink the problems of temple construction, and in so doing to choose more indigenous elements of design.[23]
At this time the architectural style of Buddhist temples began to influence that of the Shintō shrines. For example, like their Buddhist counterparts the Shintō shrines began to paint the normally unfinished timbers with the characteristic red cinnabar colour.[23]
During the later part of the Heian period there were the first documented appearances of vernacular houses in the minka style/form. These were characterized by the use local materials and labor, being primarily constructed of wood, having packed earth floors and thatched roofs.[24]
-
Phoenix Hall atUji, Kyoto
Built in 1053 -
Uji, Kyoto
Built in 1060 -
Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
Built in 1168 -
Nageire-dō of Sanbutsu-ji, Misasa, Tottori
-
Typicalgasshō-zukurifarmhouse
Kamakura and Muromachi periods
During the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and the following Muromachi period (1336–1573), Japanese Buddhist architecture made technological advances that made it diverge from its Chinese counterpart. In response to native requirements such as earthquake resistance and shelter against heavy rainfall and the summer heat and sun, the master carpenters of this time responded with a unique type of architecture,[25] creating the Daibutsuyō and Zenshūyō styles.[26][27][28] The Wayō style was combined with Daibutsuyō and the Zenshūyō to create the Shin-Wayō and the Setchūyō styles, and the number of temples in the pure Wayō style decreased after the 14th century.[29]
The Kamakura period began with the transfer of power in Japan from the imperial court to the
Although less elaborate than during the Heian period, architecture in the Kamakura period was informed by a simplicity due to its association with the military order. New residences used a buke-zukuri style that was associated with buildings surrounded by narrow moats or stockades. Defense became a priority, with buildings grouped under a single roof rather than around a garden. The gardens of the Heian period houses often became training grounds.[30]
After the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, the Ashikaga shogunate was formed, having later its seat in the Kyoto district of Muromachi. The proximity of the shogunate to the imperial court led to a rivalry in the upper levels of society which caused tendencies toward luxurious goods and lifestyles. Aristocratic houses were adapted from the simple buke-zukuri style to resemble the earlier shinden-zukuri style. A good example of this ostentatious architecture is the Kinkaku-ji in Kyōto, which is decorated with lacquer and gold leaf, in contrast to its otherwise simple structure and plain bark roofs.[30]
During the Muromachi period, shinden-zukuri style, which was the mainstream of the residences of Japanese nobles, declined, and
In an attempt to rein in the excess of the upper classes, the Zen masters introduced the tea ceremony. In architecture this promoted the design of chashitsu (tea houses) to a modest size with simple detailing and materials.[30] A typically sized Chashitsu is 4 1/2 tatami mats in size.[31][32]
In the garden, Zen principles replaced water with sand or gravel to produce the dry garden (
-
Danjogaran Fudo-dō inMt. Kōya, Wakayama
Built in 1197 -
Sanjūsangen-dō, Kyoto
Built in 1266 -
Butsuden ofShimonoseki, Yamaguchi
Built in 1320 -
Shōfuku-ji, Tokyo, Completed in 1407
-
Ginkaku-ji, Kyoto
Built in the 15th century -
Ryōan-ji dry garden in Kyoto
-
Garden of Tenryū-ji in Kyoto
Azuchi-Momoyama period
During the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600) Japan underwent a process of unification after a long period of civil war. It was marked by the rule of
The Shoin-zukuri style in the Muromachi period continued to be refined. Verandas linked the interiors of residential buildings with highly cultivated exterior gardens. Fusuma and byōbu became highly decorated with paintings and often an interior room with shelving and alcove (tokonoma) were used to display art work (typically a hanging scroll).[9]
During this period, sukiya-zukuri style villas appeared under the influence of a tea house called chashitsu (tea house).[6]
Matsumoto, Kumamoto and Himeji (popularly known as the White Heron castle) are excellent examples of the castles of the period, while Nijō Castle in Kyōto is an example of castle architecture blended with that of an imperial palace, to produce a style that is more in keeping with the Chinese influence of previous centuries.[33]
-
Dry stone walls of Kumamoto Castle,
Completed in 1600. -
Ninomaru Palace within Nijō Castle, Kyoto
-
A six-panel byōbu from the 17th century
Edo period
The
Although
Edo suffered badly from devastating fires and the 1657 Great Fire of Meireki was a turning point in urban design. Initially, as a method of reducing fire spread, the government built stone embankments in at least two locations along rivers in the city. Over time these were torn down and replaced with dōzō storehouses that were used both as fire breaks and to store goods unloaded from the canals. The dōzō were built with a structural frame made of timber coated with a number of layers of earthen plaster on the walls, door and roof. Above the earthen roofs was a timber framework supporting a tiled roof.[35] Although Japanese who had studied with the Dutch at their settlement in Dejima advocated building with stone and brick this was not undertaken because of their vulnerability to earthquakes.[36] Machiya and storehouses from the later part of the period are characterised by having a black coloration to the external plaster walls. This colour was made by adding India ink to burnt lime and crushed oyster shell.[37]
The clean lines of the civil architecture in Edo influenced the sukiya style of residential architecture. Katsura Detached Palace and Shugaku-in Imperial Villa on the outskirts of Kyōto are good examples of this style. Their architecture has simple lines and decor and uses wood in its natural state.[38] The sukiya style was applied not only to villas but also to ryōtei (Japanese-style restaurants) and chashitsu, and later it was also applied to residences.[6]
In the very late part of the period sankin-kōtai, the law requiring the daimyōs to maintain dwellings in the capital was repealed which resulted in a decrease in population in Edo and a commensurate reduction in income for the shogunate.[39]
-
Tenshu ofMatsue, Shimane Prefecture
Built in 1607 -
Hondo of Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, Built in 1633
-
Konponchudo ofŌtsu, Shiga
Built in 1641 -
Yomeimon ofNikkō, Tochigi
-
Inside the Shokintei at Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto
Built in 17th century -
Townhouse with black (edoguro) colouring to upper floor
Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa periods
Towards the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, Western influence in architecture began to show in buildings associated with the military and trade, especially naval and industrial facilities. After the Emperor Meiji was restored to power (known as the Meiji Restoration) Japan began a rapid process of Westernization which led to the need for new building types such as schools, banks and hotels.[40] Early Meiji Architecture was initially influenced by colonial architecture in Chinese treaty ports such as Hong Kong. In Nagasaki, the British trader Thomas Glover built his own house in just such a style using the skill of local carpenters. His influence helped the career of architect Thomas Waters who designed the Osaka Mint in 1868, a long, low building in brick and stone with a central pedimented portico.[41] In Tōkyō, Waters designed the Commercial Museum, thought to have been the city's first brick building.[42]
In Tokyo, after the
One of the prime examples of early western architecture was the
In contrast to Waters's neoclassical style building, Japanese carpenters developed a pseudo-Japanese style known as
The Japanese government also invited foreign architects to both work in Japan and teach new Japanese architects. One of these, the British architect
In 1920, a group of young architects formed the first organization of modernist architects. They were known as the Bunriha, literally "Secessionist group", inspired in part by the
In the
The second was Antonin Raymond who worked for Wright on the Imperial Hotel before leaving to set up his own practice in Tōkyō. Although his early works like Tōkyō Women's Christian College show Wright's influence,[53] he soon began to experiment with the use of in-situ reinforced concrete, detailing it in way that recalled traditional Japanese construction methods.[54] Between 1933 and 1937 Bruno Taut stayed in Japan. His writings, especially those on Katsura Imperial Villa reevaluated traditional Japanese architecture whilst bringing it to a wider audience.[55]
As in the Meiji era experience from abroad was gained by Japanese architects working in Europe. Among these were Kunio Maekawa and Junzo Sakakura who worked at Le Corbusier's atelier in Paris and Bunzō Yamaguchi and Chikatada Kurata who worked with Walter Gropius.[55]
Some architects built their reputation upon works of public architecture. Togo Murano, a contemporary of Raymond, was influenced by Rationalism and designed the Morigo Shoten office building, Tōkyō (1931) and Ube Public Hall, Yamaguchi Prefecture (1937). Similarly, Tetsuro Yoshida's rationalist modern architecture included the Tōkyō Central Post Office (1931) and Ōsaka Central Post Office (1939).[51]
Running contrary to modernism in Japan was the so-called
A large number of buildings from the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa eras were lost during and after World War II, such as the Rokumeikan. Taniguchi Yoshirō (谷口 吉郎, 1904–79), an architect, and Moto Tsuchikawa established
Colonial architecture
The colonial authorities constructed a large number of public buildings, many of which have survived. Examples include the large-scale concept of what is today
In
After winning
-
National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, built in 1921
-
Presidential Office Buildingin Taipei, built in 1919
-
Seoul Metropolitan Library, built in 1925
-
The Museum of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, completed in 1937
-
Bank of China Dalian branch, designed by Tsumaki Yorinaka in 1909
-
Taipei Guest House in Taipei, built in 1901
-
Former Osaka Shosen (now Mitsui O.S.K. Lines) Office Building in Taipei, built in 1937
-
Tōkuma Katayama], built in 1895
-
Bank of Japan,Kingo Tatsuno], built in 1896
-
Imperial Hotel, Tōkyō, Frank Lloyd Wright , built between 1913 and 1924
-
Sumitomo Building, Osaka, Eikichi Hasebe , built in 1924
-
Main building of Aichi Prefectural Office, Yoshitoki Nishimura , Jin Watanabe, built in 1938
-
Kurobe Dam No 2 Power Plant, Bunzō Yamaguchi , built in 1938
Late Showa period
After the war and under the influence of the
In 1949, Tange's winning competition entry to design the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum gave him international acclaim. The project (completed in 1955) led to a series of commissions including the Kagawa Prefectural Office Building in Takamatsu (1958) and Old Kurashiki City Hall (1960). At this time both Tange and Maekawa were interested in the tradition of Japanese architecture and the influence of local character. This was illustrated at Kagawa with elements of Heian period design fused with the International Style.[61]
In 1955, Le Corbusier was asked by the Japanese government to design the National Museum of Western Art in Tōkyō. He was assisted by his three former students: Maekawa, Sakakura and Takamasa Yoshizaka. The design was based upon Le Corbusier's museum in Ahmedabad, and both of the museums are square and raised on piloti.[62]
Due largely to the influence of Tange, the 1960 World Design Conference was held in Tōkyō. A small group of Japanese designers who came to represent the
In the 1960s Japan saw both the rise and the expansion of large construction firms, including the Shimizu Corporation and Kajima. Nikken Sekkei emerged as a comprehensive company that often included elements of Metabolist design in its buildings.[64]
The
During the 1960s there were also architects who did not see the world of architecture in terms of Metabolism. For example,
A former employee of Kenzo Tange was
Japanese cities where they lack European-like
In the late seventies and early eighties
The late eighties saw the first work by architects of the so-called "Shinohara" school. This included Toyō Itō and Itsuko Hasegawa who were both interested in urban life and the contemporary city. Itō concentrated on the dynamism and mobility of the city's "urban nomads" with projects like the Tower of Winds (1986) which integrated natural elements like light and wind with those of technology. Hasegawa concentrated on what she termed "architecture as another nature". Her Shōnandai Cultural Centre in Fujisawa (1991) combined the natural environment with new high-tech materials.[70]
Highly individualist architects of the late eighties included the monumental buildings of Shin Takamatsu and the "cosmic" work of Masaharu Takasaki.[71] Takasaki, who worked with the Austrian architect Günther Domenig in the 1970s shares Domenig's organic architecture. His Zero Cosmology House of 1991 in Kagoshima Prefecture constructed from concrete has a contemplative egg-shaped "zero space" at its centre.[72]
-
Kanagawa Prefectural Library and Music Hall, Yokohama, built in 1954
-
Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument, Nagasaki, built in 1962
-
Kobe Port Tower, Kōbe, built in 1963
-
Azuma House, Ōsaka, built in 1976
-
Kirin Plaza, Ōsaka, built in 1987 (now demolished)
-
Zero House, Kagoshima, built in 1991
Heisei period
The
Building on elements from the Shōnandai Culture Centre, Itsuko Hasegawa undertook a number cultural and community centres throughout Japan. These included the Sumida Cultural Centre (1995) and the Fukuroi Community Centre (2001) where she involved the public in the process of design whilst exploring her own ideas about the filtration of light through the external walls into the interior.[74] In his 1995 competition win for Sendai Mediatheque, Toyō Itō continued his earlier thoughts about fluid dynamics within the modern city with "seaweed-like" columns supporting a seven-story building wrapped in glass.[75] His work later in the period, for example, the library to Tama Art University in Tōkyō in 2007 demonstrates more expressive forms, rather than the engineered aesthetic of his earlier works.[76]
Although Tadao Ando became well known for his use of concrete, he began the decade designing the Japanese pavilion at the Seville Exposition 1992, with a building that was hailed as "the largest wooden structure in the world". He continued with this medium in projects for the Museum of Wood Culture, Kami, Hyōgo Prefecture (1994) and the Komyo-ji Shrine in Saijo (2001).[77][78]
The UK practice, Foreign Office Architects won an international competition in 1994 to design the Yokohama International Port Terminal. It is an undulating structure that emerges from the surrounding city and forms a building to walk over as well as into.[79] Klein Dytham Architecture are one of a handful of foreign architects who managed to gain a strong foothold in Japan. Their design for Moku Moku Yu (literally "wood wood steam"), a communal bathhouse in Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi Prefecture in 2004 is a series of interconnected circular pools and changing rooms, flat-roofed and clad in coloured vertical timbers.[80]
After the 1995
Historian and architect Terunobu Fujimori's studies in the 1980s into so-called architectural curios found in the city inspired the work of a younger generation of architects such as the founders of Atelier Bow-Wow. Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima surveyed the city for "no-good" architecture for their book Made in Tokyo in 2001. Their work in turn seeks to embrace its context rather than block it out. Although their office in Tōkyō is on a tight site they have welcomed the city in with huge windows and spacious porches.[83]
Sou Fujimoto's architecture relies upon a manipulation of basic building blocks to produce a geometric primitivism. His buildings are very sensitive to the topographical form of their context and include a series of houses as well as a children's home in Hokkaidō.[84]
Two former employees of Toyō Itō,
-
The Church of the Light, Ibaraki, Ōsaka, built in 1989
-
Japanese pavilion at the 1992 Seville Exposition
Built in 1992 -
Museum for Wood Culture, Kami, Hyogo Prefecture
Built in 1994 -
Yokohama International Port Terminal
Built between 1994 and 2002 -
Paper Church, Kōbe
Built in 1995 -
Yamanashi Fruit Museum
Built in 1996 -
Tama Art University Library, Tōkyō
Built in 2007
Japanese interior design
Japanese interior design has a unique aesthetic derived from
Traditional Japanese aesthetic
What is generally identified as the Japanese aesthetic stems from ideals of Japanese Shinto and Chinese Taoism.[88] Japanese culture is extremely diverse; despite this, in terms of the interior, the aesthetic is one of simplicity and minimalism.
The specific idea that a room's true beauty is in the empty space within the roof and walls came from Laozi, a philosopher and the founder of Taoism, who held to the "aesthetic ideal of emptiness",[88] believing that the mood should be captured in the imagination, and not so heavily dictated by what is physically present.[88] Japanese design is based strongly on craftsmanship, beauty, elaboration, and delicacy. The design of interiors is very simple but made with attention to detail and intricacy. This sense of intricacy and simplicity in Japanese designs is still valued in modern Japan as it was in traditional Japan.[89]
Interiors are very simple, highlighting minimal and natural decoration. Traditional Japanese interiors, as well as modern, incorporate mainly natural materials including fine woods, bamboo, silk, rice straw mats, and paper
Impermanence is a strong theme in traditional Japanese dwellings.[88] The size of rooms can be altered by interior sliding walls or screens, the already mentioned shōji. Cupboards built smoothly into the wall hide futon, mattresses pulled out before going to bed, allowing more space to be available during the day. The versatility of these dwellings becomes more apparent with changes of seasons. In summer, for example, exterior walls can be opened to bring the garden and cooling breezes in. The minimal decoration also alters seasonally, with a different scroll hanging or new flower arrangement.
The Japanese aesthetic developed further with the celebration of imperfection and insufficiency, characteristics resulting from the natural ageing process or darkening effect.[91] Shinto, the indigenous religious tradition of Japan, provides a basis for the appreciation of these qualities, holding to a philosophy of appreciation of life and the world. Sei Shōnagon was a trend-setting court lady of the tenth century who wrote in ‘The Pillow Book’ of her dislike for "a new cloth screen with a colourful and cluttered painting of many cherry blossoms",[91] preferring instead to notice "that one's elegant Chinese mirror has become a little cloudy".[91] Her taste was not out of place in the ancient Japanese court. In the twelfth century a Buddhist monk, Yoshida Kenkō, exerted his influence on Japanese aesthetic sensibility resulting from his philosophy of life. He asked, "Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom, the moon only when it is cloudless? ...Branches about to blossom or garden strewn with faded flowers are worthier of our admiration."[91] The incomplete is also praised by Kenkō, "uniformity and completeness are undesirable".[91] Underpinning or complementing these aesthetic ideals, is the valuing of contrast; when imperfection or the impoverished is contrasted with perfection or opulence, each is emphasised and thus better appreciated.[91]
Traditional materials of the interior
Japanese interior design is very efficient in the use of resources. Traditional and modern Japanese interiors have been flexible in use and designed mostly with natural materials. The spaces are used as multifunctional rooms. The rooms can be opened to create more space for a particular occasion or for more privacy, or vice versa closed-off by pulling closed paper screens called
Japanese Zen interior designs draw inspiration from elements of nature as they have immense respect for nature. Their designs have a strong connection with natural elements such as wood, plants, natural lighting and more.
A large portion of Japanese interior walls are often made of shōji screens that can be pushed open to join two rooms together, and then close them allowing more privacy. The shōji screens are made of paper attached to thin wooden frames that roll away on a track when they are pushed. Another important feature of the shōji screen, besides privacy and seclusion, is that they allow light through. This is an important aspect to Japanese design. Paper translucent walls allow light to be diffused through the space and create light shadows and patterns.
Tatami mats are rice straw floor mats often used to cover the floor in Japan's interiors; in modern Japanese houses there are usually only one or two tatami rooms. Another way to connect rooms in Japan's interiors is through sliding panels made of wood and paper, like the shōji screens, or cloth. These panels are called fusuma and are used as an entire wall. They are traditionally hand painted.[92]
Tatami are the basis of traditional Japanese architecture, regulating a building's size and dimensions. They originated in ancient Japan when straw was laid on bare earth as a softener and warmer. In the Heian period (794–1185), this idea developed into moveable mats that could be laid anywhere in the house to sit or sleep on before becoming a permanent floor covering in the fifteenth century.[88] Tatami are suitable for the Japanese climate because they let air circulate around the floor.[88][92]
Bamboo is prominently used and even expected in the Japanese house, used both for decorative and functional purposes. Bamboo blinds, sudare, replace shoji in summer to prevent excess heat inside and also offer greater ventilation. Country dwellings and farmhouses often use it for ceilings and rafters.[88] The natural properties of bamboo, its raw beauty with the knots and smooth surface, correspond to Japanese aesthetic ideals of imperfection, contrast and the natural.
The use of paper, or washi, in Japanese buildings is a main component in the beauty and atmosphere of the Japanese interior, the way variation of shadow combines to create a "mystery of shadows".[88] A range of papers are used for various purposes in the home.
Wood is generally used for the framework of the home, but its properties are valuable in the Japanese aesthetic, namely its warmth and irregularity.
A recessed space called tokonoma is often present in traditional as well as modern Japanese living rooms. This is the focus of the room and displays Japanese art, usually a painting or calligraphy.
Western influence
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan's relations to Euro-American powers became more prominent and involved.[93] This spilled into a broader interacting with the modern world, which in terms of interior design, resulted in the introduction of western style interiors, while the vernacular style came to be more associated with tradition and the past.[93] The typical interiors found in Japanese homes and western homes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were vastly different with almost opposing attitudes to furniture, versatility of space and materials.[93]
Many public spaces had begun to incorporate chairs and desks by the late nineteenth century, department stores adopted western-style displays; a new "urban visual and consumer culture" was emerging.[93] In the domestic sphere, the manner and dress of inhabitants were determined by the interior style, Japanese or Western. One of the examples is the Hōmei-Den of the Meiji era Tokyo Imperial Palace, which fused Japanese styles such as the coffered ceiling with western parquet floor and chandeliers.
There was a push by bureaucrats for Japan to develop into a more "modern" (Western) culture. The modernising of the home was considered the best way to change the daily life of the people.[93] Much of the reason for modernisation was a desire to "present a ‘civilised’ face to the world, thus helping to secure Japan's position as a modern nation in the world order".[93] Even with governmental encouragement to transform the home, the majority of Japanese people still lived in fairly traditional style dwellings well into the 1920s,[93] partly due to economic situation in the early 1910s that meant western style was out of reach for the majority of people. It was also difficult to incorporate furniture into traditional dwellings due to their small size and intended flexible use of space, a flexibility made difficult to maintain when bulky furniture was involved; it was impractical, but aesthetically incongruent too.
Influence on the West
Some of the earliest influence on the West came in the form of Japanese art, which gained popularity in Europe in particular, in the latter part of the nineteenth century.[94] In terms of architecture and interior design though, the influence on the West is much more centered on the United States of America.[95]
Before the twentieth century, very little of the West's knowledge of the Japanese building was gained in Japan. Instead it was gained through exhibitions the Japanese partook in such as the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia.[95] The early influence of such exhibitions was more in the creation of an enthusiasm for things Japanese instead of something more authentic.[95] The result was exuberant Japanese decoration, the simplicity of Japanese design lost in the clutter of Victorian ostentation.[95]
During the twentieth century though, a number of now renowned architects visited Japan including Frank Lloyd Wright, Ralph Adams Cram, Richard Neutra and Antonin Raymond. These architects, among others, played significant roles in bringing the Japanese influence to Western modernism.[95] Influence from the Far East was not new in America at this time. During the eighteenth and a large part of the nineteenth centuries, a taste for Chinese art and architecture existed and often resulted in a "superficial copying". The Japanese influence was different however. The modernist context, and the time leading up to it, meant that architects were more concerned with "the problem of building, rather than in the art of ornamenting".[95] The simplicity of Japanese dwellings contrasted the oft-esteemed excessive decoration of the West. The influence of Japanese design was thus not so much that it was directly copied but rather, "the west discovered the quality of space in traditional Japanese architecture through a filter of western architectural values".[96] The culture that created traditional Japanese architecture is so far removed from Western values philosophies of life that it could not be directly applied in a design context.
See also
- Shinto architecture
- Japanese Buddhist architecture
- Japanese-Western Eclectic Architecture
- Japanese garden
- Architecture of Tokyo
- List of Japanese architects
- Architectural forgery in Japan
- Housing in Japan
- Giboshi
Notes and references
- ^ a b Kokufu bunka. Kotobank.
- ^ a b Shinden-zukuri. Kotobank.
- ^ ISBN 978-4642020992p.22. Yoshikawa Kōbunkan.
- ^ a b Shoin-zukuri. Kotobank.
- ^ a b tatami. Kotobank.
- ^ a b c sukiya-zukuri. Kotobank.
- from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g (Hozumi (1996:9-11)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Japanese architecture". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ Itoh (1973), p. 10
- S2CID 145591097.
- .
- ^ Keyhole-shaped tombs in Korean Peninsula Hideo Yoshii (Kyoto University) "UCLA Center for Korean Studies" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
- ^ Bussagli (1989), pp. 163–165
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "Irimoyazukuri". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ Bussagli (1989), p. 165
- ^ Sickman & Soper (1956), pp. 237–238
- ^ Itoh (1973), p. 21
- ^ a b Bussagli (1989), p. 166
- ^ Zwerger (2000), pp. 34 & 35
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "Noyane". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
- ^ Wayo kenchiku. Kotobank.
- ^ a b Bussagli (1989), p. 168
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "Minka". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ISBN 0-521-40352-9.
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "Daibutsuyou". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "Zenshuuyou". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-415-10601-6.
- ^ Setchūyō. Kotobank.
- ^ a b c Bussagli (1989), p. 172
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "tatami". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ Parent, Mary Neighbour. "Chashitsu". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ a b c Bussagli (1989), p. 177
- ^ "JAANUS / Machiya 町家". Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.. Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved on May 18, 2011.
- ^ Itoh (1973), pp. 71, 72, 75 & 76
- ^ Itoh (1973), p. 82
- ^ "JAANUS / Edoguro 江戸黒". Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.. Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System. Retrieved on May 18, 2011.
- ^ Bussagli (1989), p. 178
- ^ Stewart (2002), p. 13
- ^ Bognar (1995), pp. 12 & 13
- ^ Stewart (2002), p. 19
- ^ Stewart (2002), p. 20
- ^ artist, Ukiyo-e (1888). "English: Bird's-eye view of the Meiji palace which was completed in October 1888". Archived from the original on June 19, 2012 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ Stewart (2002), p. 22
- ^ Bognar (1995), p. 164
- ^ Stewart (2002), p. 27
- ^ Unknown. "English: Dai-ichi Kokuritsu Ginko (First National Bank in Japan)". Archived from the original on June 19, 2012 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ Stewart (2002), pp. 48–54
- ^ Stewart (2002), pp. 55–58
- ^ Reynolds (2001), pp. 21–24
- ^ a b Bognar (1995), p. 14
- ^ Tanigawa (2008), p. 53
- ^ Stewart (2002), p. 101–106
- ^ Frampton (1990), p. 258
- ^ a b Bognar (1995), p. 15
- ^ Bognar (1995), p. 97
- ^ Japan Architect (2005), p. 56
- ^ Hein, Diefendorf & Yorifusa (2003), p. 2
- ^ Hein, Diefendorf & Yorifusa (2003), p. 25
- ^ Hein, Diefendorf & Yorifusa (2003), p. 29
- ^ Frampton (1985), p. 260
- ^ Reynolds (2001), pp. 177 & 178
- ^ Goldhagen & Legault (2000), pp. 279–297
- ^ Bognar (1995), p. 19
- ^ Stewart (2002), pp. 198–205, 268 & 269
- ^ Stewart (2002), pp. 223–226, 251–255
- ^ Bognar (1995), pp. 21&22
- ^ Frampton (1985), p. 324
- ^ Bognar (1995), pp. 23, 47 & 227
- ^ Bognar (1995), p. 28
- ^ Bognar (1995), pp. 29 & 305
- ^ Takasaki (1998), p. 29–43
- ^ Slessor (2001), p. 44
- ^ Slessor (2001), pp. 57–60
- ^ Webb (2001), pp. 46–51
- ^ Gregory (2007), pp. 47–54
- ^ Essay by Keith H. Walker for the Hyatt Foundation, Chicago, sponsors of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Retrieved on May 21, 2011
- ^ The History of the World Expostions Archived May 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on May 21, 2011
- ^ Sumner & Pollock (2010), p. 54
- ^ Sumner & Pollock (2010), p. 112
- ^ Thompson (2000), pp. 93–101
- ^ Webb (2006), pp. 48–52
- ^ Sumner & Pollock (2010), pp. 16, 17 & 23
- ^ Gregory (2007), pp. 56–61
- ^ Sumner & Pollock (2010), pp. 14, 15, 236, 237
- ^ Payne (2010), pp. 10 & 11
- ^ "Gallery". Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2011.. The Serpentine Gallery 2009 Pavilion. Retrieved on May 21, 2011.
- ^ ISBN 0-8048-3262-5.
- ^ "How Japanese Culture influences their Designs". November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011. How Japanese Culture Influences Their Designs
- ^ "How Japanese Culture influences their Designs – Design Sojourn". designsojourn.com. November 18, 2009. Archived from the original on December 26, 2011.
- ^ JSTOR 430925.
- ^ a b c "7 Principles of Japanese Interior Design – Spacious Planet". Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ S2CID 57572360.
- ISBN 0-8109-0559-0.
- ^ JSTOR 3047491.
- JSTOR 1315992.
Bibliography
- Bognar, Botond (1995). The Japan Guide. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-878271-33-4.
- Bussagli, Mario (1989). History of World Architecture – Oriental Architecture/2. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-15378-X.
- Bowring, R. and Kornicki, P. (1993), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan, pp. 201–208, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-40352-9.
- Coaldrake, William H. (1996) Architecture and Authority in Japan (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies Series), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-10601-6
- Daniell, Thomas (2008) After the Crash: Architecture in Post-Bubble Japan, Princeton Architectural Press, ISBN 978-1-56898-776-7
- Diefendorf, Jeffry M; Hein, Carola; Yorifusa, Ishida, eds. (2003). Rebuilding Urban Japan After 1945. Hampshire, United Kingdom: ISBN 0-333-65962-7.
- Fiévé, Nicolas (1996).L'architecture et la ville du Japon ancien. Espace architectural de la ville de Kyôto et des résidences shôgunales aux XIVe et XVe siècles, Bibliothèque de l'Institut des Hautes Études Japonaises, Collège de France, Paris, Maisonneuve & Larose, 358 pages + 102 illustrations. ISBN 2-7068-1131-5.
- Fiévé, Nicolas (dir.) (2008).Atlas historique de Kyôto. Analyse spatiale des systèmes de mémoire d’une ville, de son architecture et de ses paysages urbains. Foreword Kôichirô Matsuura, Preface Jacques Gernet, Paris, Éditions de l’UNESCO / Éditions de l’Amateur, 528 pages, 207 maps et 210 ill. ISBN 978-2-85917-486-6.
- Fiévé, Nicolas and Waley, Paul. (2003). Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo. London: Routledge. 417 pages + 75 ill. ISBN 978-0-7007-1409-4
- Frampton, Kenneth (1990). Modern Architecture a Critical History. Thames and Hudson.
- Gotō, Osamu (2003). Nihon Kenchikushi. Kyoritsu Shuppan.
- Gregory, Rob, August 2007, "Reading Matter", Architectural Review
- Gregory, Rob, August 2007, "Rock Solid", Architectural Review
- Itoh, Teiji (1973). Kura – Design and Tradition of the Japanese Storehouse. Kodansha International. ISBN 0-914842-53-6.
- Mitchelhill, Jennifer (2013). Castles of the Samurai:Power & Beauty. USA: Kodansha. ISBN 978-1568365121.
- Nishi, Kazuo; Hozumi, Kazuo (1996) [1983]. What is Japanese architecture? (illustrated ed.). Kodansha International. ISBN 4-7700-1992-0. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
- Payne, James, March 2010, "Lausanne", Architecture Today
- Reynolds, Jonathan M. (2001). Maekawa Kunio and the Emergence of Japanese Modernist Architecture. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21495-1.
- Sickman & Soper, Laurence & Alexander (1956). The Art and Architecture of China. Penguin Books.
- Slessor, Catherine, October 2001, "Comment", Architectural Review
- Slessor, Catherine, October 2001, "Common Ground", Architectural Review
- Stewart, David B (2002). The Making of a Modern Japanese Architecture, From the Founders to Shinohara and Isozaki. Kodansha International.
- Sumner, Yuki; Pollock, Naomi (2010). New Architecture in Japan. London: Merrell. ISBN 978-1-85894-450-0.
- Takasaki, Masaharu (1998). An Architecture of Cosmology. Princeton Architectural Press.
- Tanigawa, Masami (2008). Yamamura House – Yodoko Guest House. Banana Books.
- Thompson, Jessica Cargill (2000). 40 architects under 40. Taschen. ISBN 3-8228-6212-6.
- Legault, Réjean; Goldhagen, Sarah, eds. (2000). Anxious Modernisms. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-07208-4.
- Webb, Michael, October 2001, "Layered Media", Architectural Review
- Webb, Michael, May 2006, "Container Art", Architectural Review
- Spring 2005, "Do_co,mo.mo Japan: the 100 selection", The Japan Architect, No. 57
- ISBN 0-7506-2267-9. Cf. Part Four, Chapter 25
- Koji Yagi (text), Ryo Hata (photos): A Japanese Touch For Your Home. Kodansha International, Tokyo, New York, London 1999 (Pbck.), ISBN 4-7700-1662-X
External links
- mooponto — Portal for Japanese minimalist architecture Explore the vision behind the modern Japanese minimalist architecture
- JAANUS (Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System) On-line dictionary of Japanese architectural and art historical terminology