Japanese Architecture

Traditional Japanese Architecture

By: Adulsak "Otto" Chanyakorn

An image drawn by the author based on a photograph by Ben Simmons in Tradition Japanese architecture p.15

            I recently have an opportunity to do research on traditional Japanese architecture for our Non-Western Architecture class. Last article, I briefly explained about the Katsura Imperial Villa, one of the most distinctive residences of traditional Japanese architecture from the Edo period. While I was reading some books for my research paper, I have produced some drawings to analyze and synthesize for understanding the essentials of Japanese architecture. There are three basic architectural elements that create unique characteristic for traditional Japanese architecture.

An image drawn by the author based on a photograph by Yasuhiro Ishimoto in Katsura: Tradition and creation in Japanese architecture

            Naturalness is the first characteristic that stands out from the others. Japanese people consider nature to be part of their everyday lives. The culture is built on the strong connection and respect to mother nature. For them, there is no separation between human beings and nature. Lives are connected to the natural environment: sun, wind, mountains, stones, trees, and light. For example, the rituals and ceremonies of planting and harvesting of crops were associated with respect to nature. Japanese people believe every natural object contains its own spirit and has a strong relationship to its surroundings. The Japanese people believed man should respect nature just as he respects himself.  Hence, this ideology was applied to traditional architecture as well. Minka (farmers’ houses) were built on the strong connection to nature in many aspects such as material considerations, climate, typography, sun orientation, etc.

An image drawn by the author based on a photograph by Norman Carver in Form and Space of Japanese Architecture p.163

            Second, traditional Japanese architecture expresses beauty through simplicity. Katsura Imperial Villa is the extraordinary example of this expression. The simple form, structure, and order represent sound integration of architectural elements to create the beauty of simplicity. Simplicity is an essence that was cultivated in Japanese culture through Zen. Developed from Buddhism, Zen is not a religion, but it is a fundamental ideology towards the beauty of simplicity in our everyday life. The simple elements of traditional Japanese architecture appeal to modernists who have often tried to decode and apply this aspect to their own design principals. Even well known architectural figures, such as Walter Gropius mentioned the impression about this aspect of traditional Japanese architecture.

An image drawn by the author based on a photograph by Yoshiharu Matsamura in Katsura: Imperial Villa

Finally the Japanese tradition of remarkable and detailed carpentry skills as well as wood craftsmanship has a well-known reputation. Without this extraordinary craftsmanship, traditional Japanese architecture may not be able to reach the peak point of its time. The beautiful details were carefully articulated, then displayed small parts of wood joinery to the building as a whole, which created the harmony of architecture. It also expressed the natural quality of the timber without covering the beauty of the materials by attaching other construction material or thick coatings. The use of timber in Japan has been considered and developed over many thousands of years.  Japanese carpenters have successfully learned and contemplated this skill.  Architecture without great attention to detail and articulation may not be able to achieve a good result, and traditional Japanese architecture has demonstrated this aspect very well.

            In the modern era, everything is produced quickly to serve the needs of capitalism. Hence, this ideology requires us to produce things without considering quality as essential but focusing on quantity, which leads to the superficial level of our quality of life. Kengo Kuma, one of the well-known Japanese architects refers to this issue as the era of skin.  In contrast, traditional Japanese architecture will be a good example for us to master the beauty of our lives and see the importance of slowness. In the era of confusion as the world becomes smaller, I believe learning from traditional Japanese architecture is not only to improve my architectural ideology, but it is to refine and contemplate my human being as well.