traditional dwelling japan

8/9/2019 Traditional Dwelling JAPAN

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Brief History of Japan

Prehistoric Japan

During the Jomon period, which began around 10,000 BC, the inhabitants of Japan lived by

fishing, hunting, and gathering. The period is named after the cordmar!ings "#omon$ on the pottery they produced. %n the &ayoi period, beginning around '00 BC, rice cultivation was

introduced from the (orean )eninsula. *n account of Japan in a Chinese historical document

of the third century *D describes a +ueen named imi!o ruling over a country called

&amatai.

Kofun Period (ca. AD 300-710)

%n the fourth century, ancestors of the present imperial family established

Japan-s first unified state under what is !nown as the &amato court.

During this period, manufactured articles, weapons, and agricultural tools

were introduced from China and (orea. The period is named after thehuge mounded tombs "!ofun$ that were built for the political elite. These

tombs were often surrounded with clay cylinders and figurines called

haniwa.

ara Period (710-7!")

* centralied government, with its capital in what is now the city of

/ara, was established under a Chinesestyle system of law codes

!nown as the itsuryo system. Buddhism became the national

religion, and Buddhist art and architecture flourished. )rovincial

temples called !o!ubun#i were set up throughout Japan. %t wasduring this period that the reat Buddha at the Todai#i temple in

/ara was built. istories of Japan, such as (o#i!i and /ihon sho!i

were compiled, as was the celebrated collection of poetry called

2an-yoshu.


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Heian Period (7!"-11#$)

*fter the capital moved to what is now

(yoto, certain noble families,especially the

3u#iwara family, gained control of the

government, ruling on behalf of the emperor.The Chinesestyle culture that had

dominated the /ara period was gradually

replaced by a more indigenous style of

culture closer to the lives of the people and

their natural surroundings. The palaces of

the emperor and the residences of the noble

families incorporated beautiful gardens, with

buildings in the shindenu!uri style of

architecture. 4iterary masterpieces such as 2urasa!i 5hi!ibu-s The Tale of en#i and 5ei

5honagon-s )illow Boo! were written during this period.

Ka%a&ura Period (11#$-1333)

The Taira family, a warrior family that had come to

dominate the imperial court in the late eian period,

was overthrown by the 2inamoto family. 2inamoto

no &oritomo was given the title of shogun by the

court, and he set up a militarystyle government at

(ama!ura the (ama!ura 5hogunate ushering in

a period of de facto rule by members of the warrior

class. %n the arts, a vigorous, realistic style emerged

that was in !eeping with the warrior spirit. Thestatues of fierce guardian deities by 6n!ei and other sculptors at the 5outhern reat ate of

Todai#i Temple are e7amples of this powerful, realistic style. %n literature, this period is noted

for military tales such as the Tale of the ei!e, which celebrated the e7ploits of the warriors.


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'uro%achi Period (1333-1$#)

The beginning of this period was dominated

by a political standoff between 8mperor o

Daigo, who had briefly restored control of

the government to the imperial court, and hisformer supporter *shi!aga Ta!au#i, who had

overthrown the (ama!ura 5hogunate but

had then gone on to establish the 2uromachi

5hogunate. %n time the shogunate wea!ened,

losing its centralied control over local warlords9 the latter part of this period is referred to as

the 5engo!u period a period of :warring states.: 2ore plebeian forms of culture began to

emerge as the merchant class and the peasants managed to improve their circumstances. %n

the arts this was a period of Chinesestyle in! painting, and in theater /oh drama and !yogen

came to the fore. This was also the period in which the pursuits of tea ceremony and flower

arrangement were born. %n architecture, an important development was the shoinu!uri style,

with elegant tatamimatted rooms, featuring an alcove where paintings were hung.

Auchi-'o%oya%a Period (1$#-100)

The nation was reunified by ;da /obunaga and Toyotomi

ideyoshi "foremost among the 5engo!u warlords$ who

respectively ruled it briefly. %n the arts, this was a period of

increased contact with 8uropeans, who had begun to visit

Japan earlier in the century. %n place of the Buddhist

influence of earlier periods, a lavishly ornate decorative

style was developed at the hands of the warlords and the

emerging merchant classes in the towns. This new stylereached its height in /obunaga-s *uchi Castle and

ideyoshi-s 2omoyama and ;sa!a castles. *t this time the

tea master 5en no i!yu developed the tea ceremony into

an esthetic discipline that is !nown as the


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*do Period (100-1##)

To!ugawa %eyasu, who defeated other vassals of the deceased Toyotomi ideyoshi at the

Battle of 5e!igahara and thereby gained control of Japan, established the To!ugawa

5hogunate in 8do "now To!yo$. The To!ugawa shoguns ruled Japan for over =>0 years, and

for some =00 of these years the country was virtually shut off from foreign contact by theshogunate-s policy of national seclusion. 3rom the end of the 1?th century through the

beginning of the 1@th century, a colorful, down

toearth new culture developed among the

townsmen of the older cities of (yoto and

;sa!a. %hara 5ai!a!u composed his u!iyooshi

"boo!s of the :floating world:$, Chi!amatsu

2onaemon portrayed tragic relationships

between men and women in his puppet plays,

and 2atsuo Basho raised the comic hai!u verse

form to the level of a literary art. By the Bun!a

and Bunsei eras, at the beginning of the 1Ath century, this new merchantclass form of culturewas also flourishing in the shogunal capital of 8do. The !abu!i drama was in its heyday. The

printing of boo!s had become an industry. The art of the woodbloc! print "u!iyoe$ was born,

with 5hara!u producing his portraits of actors, 6tamaro his pictures of beautiful women, and

o!usai and iroshige their landscapes.

'ei+i Period (1##-1!1,)

The 2ei#i estoration, by which

political authority was restored from theshogunate to the imperial court, ushered

in a period of farreaching reform. The

policy of national seclusion was

rescinded, and the culture and

civiliation of the


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aisho Period (1!1,-1!,)

The educated urban middle classes avidly read the latest translations of


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istory of Japanese omes

%n ancient Japan, there were essentially two different types of houses. The first was what is

!nown as a pitdwelling house, in which columns are inserted into a big hole dug in the

ground and then surrounded by grass. The second was built with the floor raised above the

ground. The style of house with an elevated floor is said to have come to Japan from5outheast *sia, and this type of building was apparently used to store grain and other foods

so that they wouldn-t spoil from heat and humidity.

%n around the eleventh century, when Japan-s uni+ue culture came into full bloom, members

of the aristocracy began to build a distinctive style of house for themselves called shinden-

zukuri. This type of house, which stood in the midst of a large garden, was symmetrical, and

its rooms were connected with long hallways. %t allowed residents to en#oy seasonal events

and the beauty of nature.

*s political power passed from the nobles to the samurai "warrior class$ and a new form of

Buddhism made its way to Japan, core aspects of traditional Japanese culture as we !now it

today began to ta!e root, including ikebana"flower arranging$, the tea ceremony, and /oh.

The samurai created their own style of house called shoin-zukuri. This influence can be seen

in the alcove ornament of the guest rooms of modern houses.

The houses of common people developed differently. 3armers in different regions of the

country had houses that were adapted to local conditions. The houses built in the gassho style

in 5hira!awago, which is listed as a


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shoin-zukuri 院造

2aterials

%n the case of 8urope, stone seemed the logical building material, in Japan with its vast

forests it was wood. The architecture of Japan is a response to its natural environment itsweather, its geography and its harmony with all of those elements. 8uropean structures were

built as barriers against the forces of nature. %t-s the :man with nature, man vs. nature:

philosophies which set the ground rules for differences between Japan and western cultures in

art, literature and also building construction.

3loors

3rom that time on, the ruling classes always lived in structures elevated from the ground. The

lower classes remained living on mat covered dirt floors for many centuries to come. The

predominant flooring for the nobility was wooden plan!s.

Tatami

* thic! mat base of woven rice straw, toko, covered by woven rush, igusa.. Tatami sie is

said to have been determined by the sleeping area of a person. The introduction of the shoin

u!uri style e7panded the use of tatami as the entire floor covering over the wooden plan!s.

Tatami became the unit of measure of room sie. 2any believe that there is #ust one sie of

tatami, appro7imately si7 feet by three feet.

5ho#i3usuma

The advantage of post and beam construction is that there are no bearing walls. The fact that

the building-s load is ta!en by the pillars frees the walls and interior partitions to be not only

light in weight but also mobile as well. The traditional house is really one large room that has

numerous partitions. That is why you can transform a sitting room into a ban+uet room #ust

by ta!ing down the sho#i and fusuma doors. 3usuma are the opa+ue sliding doors seen in the

interior of the house. Their origins come from the screens imported from China. Their

function in the house is twofold. They partition the interior rooms of the house and they

provide artistic decoration since they are usually painted with a scene of some sort. 3usuma

have graced the interiors of castles and temples for centuries. 5ome of the greatest artists

have painted masterpieces on fusuma doors. 5ho#i are the lattice frame sliding doors which

are covered with translucent paper made from mulberry bar! "sorry, rice paper is a

misnomer$. They usually partition the interior from the e7terior, and subse+uently the outer

bounderies of the tatami. th century with Buddhism.


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To!onoma

%t was not until the shoinu!uri that the to!onoma became the permanent formal area of art

display. There are several components of the to!onoma that are usually present. 3irst there is

the tokobashira, the alcove pillar or post. The post defines the to!onoma-s area as does the

dais or stand. %n the chaistu , the tea hut, the to!obashira is usually made from an unplanedtrun! of a tree such as a cherry or cedar. 5crolls are placed in the center wall of the to!onoma.

3lower arrangements and o!imono are placed on the dais in front of it. To the other side of

the to!onoma one might find a des!, tsukeshoin , with a staggered set of shelves, chigai-

dana. ;n the side wall there is usually a window of some form to let in light. 8ach to!onoma

is uni+ue to the space available for it.

The main guest of honor is to be seated ne7t to the to!onoma, however, because of the

seating arrangements the guest of honor-s bac! is to the to!onoma. *ctually, the host has the

best view of the to!onoma while tal!ing to the guest, which is probably fitting since the host

has spent the time carefully choosing the right scroll for the occasion. The guests generally

have the best view of the garden which is often directly opposite that of the to!onoma.

5ource httpwww.yoshinoanti+ues.comnewsletterEinteriors.html at ?th Jan =01


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***2*

1. 2inistry of 3oreign *ffairs by (odansha %nternational 4td. "n.d.$. History of Japan.

etrieved January , =01 from The Firtual 2useum of Japanese *rts website

httpweb#apan.orgmuseumhistoryof#phist#p.html

=. 2inistry of 3oreign *ffairs of Japan, 2;3*. "n.d.$. The History of Japanese Houses.

etrieved January , =01 from (ids

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