Japanese Architecture

Japanese Architecture

climate

BuddhismChina

Features of Japanese

Architecture

• Roof is made of heavy timbers.

• Made of wood

• Post-and-lintel structure

•Interior - multitude of partially-screened,

geometrically-arranged rooms with

sliding doors

•built with few nails or sometimes none

Features of Traditional

Japanese Home

•made of wood

•has tatami mat floors

•sliding shoji doors

•coffered ceiling

•lath-and-plaster walls

•tokonoma (display alcoves)

•Genkan(entrance)

T H R O U G H O U T T H E H I S T O R Y

Architecture in Japan

Prehistoric Period

•small buildings

•thatched roofs

•dirt floors(made of wood if the area is humid)

Reconstructed storehouse

“ A S U K A P E R I O D ”

• t h e t e r m w a s f i r s t u s e d t o d e s c r i b e a p e r i o d i n t h e h i s t o r y o f J a p a n e se f i n e - a rt s

a n d a r c h i t e c t u r e

• w a s i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e i n t r o d u c t i on o f B u d d h i s m f r o m C h i n a v i a K o r e a n P e n i n s u l a

Asuka Period

Asuka Period

The Main

Worship Hall

-usually found at thecenter of the templegrounds

- Inside are images ofthe Buddha, otherBuddhist images, analtar or altars withvarious objects andspace for monks andworshipers.

Main Worship Hall(Kondo)

Asuka Period

Five Story Pagoda

•have five storiesrepresent the fiveelements :

•Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Sky

The Five Story Pagoda

Asuka Period

Shinto Shrines

-places of worship and the dwellings of the kami, the Shinto "gods“

Main Features:

•Komainu

•Torii

•Chozuya

•Main sanctuary

Shinto Shrine

Heian Period

shinden-zukuri

- the style was characterised by symmetrical buildings placed as arms that defined an inner garden

The Phoenix HallShinden-Zukuri

•T h e J a p a n e s e P o l i t i c a l p o w e r w a s r u n b y S a m u r i .

•M a n y h o u s e s w e r e j u s t p l a i n , s y m m e t r i c a l , a n d c o n t a i n e d t r e n c h e s b u t t h e y w e r e

s i m p l e a n d s t u r d y .

Kamakura Period

Kamakura Period

Sanju-Sangen-Do

-Hall with thirty three spaces between

columns

- contains 1,000 life-size statues of the

Thousand Armed Kannon

The Sanju-Sangen-Do

The Thousand Armed Kannon

Kamakura Period

Tea House

•For tea cermonies

•Must have an atmosphere of calm

and meditation

•The only adornment was a hanging scroll with calligraphy or a flower arrangement

Tea House

I n r e sp on s e t o a m i l i t a r i s t i c t i me ,t he c a st le , a d e fe n s ive s t r u ct ur e , w a s b ui l tt o k e e p o u t i n t r u d e r s o r a t t a c k e r s .

Azuchi-Momoyama Period

Defense features:

•elaborate mazes of halls, corridors and tunnels

•Defensive walls with triangular and circular holes for firing arrows and guns, for pouring boiling oil and rocks

Azuchi-Momoyama Period

Himeji Castle

•the best of Japan's castles

•one of the few with some its original

interior and exterior intact.

•was built by Ikeda Terumasa.

•It has managed to avoid being destroyed

by a fire or natural disaster and was never attacked.

Himeji Castle aka White Heron Castle

Edo Period

This periodbrought back a lot ofclassic Japanesearchitecture.

The city of Edowas struck by firesrepeatedly soarchitecture wassimplified to allow foreasy rebuilding.

Enhanced Architecture:

•Machiya(townhouses)

Katsura-Detached Palace

Typical Machiya

Meiji Period

•Emperor Meiji tookcharge, new anddifferent forms ofculture moved intoJapan.

•European influencesslowly managed towork their way toarchitecture.

Nara National Museum

Modern Architecture

•Change in technologygreatly affected thearchitecture.

•After World War II alot of Japan had to berebuilt, but the newJapan looked muchdifferent than oldJapan.

•The styles went frombig, rectangularprisms to long andtall skyscrapers.