What do you think?
Rate this book
The Art of Japanese Architecture
The Art of Japanese Architecture explores the simplicity, asymmetry, sensitivity to the natural environment, and use of natural materials that are the hallmarks of Japanese architecture. These elements are explored and clarified in this cultural and historical overview of the rapidly changing world of Japanese architecture.
Beginning with a discussion of prehistoric pit dwellings and concluding with a description of significant modern buildings, David and Michiko Young, authors of the 2006 American Horticultural Award-winning book, The Art of the Japanese Garden , analyze the major changes in architecture caused by the introduction of Buddhist culture, the development of feudalism, the influence of Western culture and the adaptation of the international style in contemporary buildings.
Beginning with a discussion of prehistoric pit dwellings and concluding with a description of significant modern buildings, David and Michiko Young, authors of the 2006 American Horticultural Award-winning book, The Art of the Japanese Garden , analyze the major changes in architecture caused by the introduction of Buddhist culture, the development of feudalism, the influence of Western culture and the adaptation of the international style in contemporary buildings.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published July 15, 2007
12 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 27, 2018
I loved this book and it had a ton of insight on styles of houses.
The only problem I had is that it has nothing relating to this century that wasn't restored, except for the last 3 pages with absolutely no description.
The only problem I had is that it has nothing relating to this century that wasn't restored, except for the last 3 pages with absolutely no description.
June 15, 2017
https://101booksjapan.blogspot.ca/
The Art of Japanese Architecture is a wonderful journey through the history of buildings in Japan. The book traces the origins of what we see today right back to pre-historic times.
It's amazing to see influences traced back hundreds and even more than 1,000 years. It says something about the timeless nature of Japanese design.
The story is a lesson in Japanese culture - and how much it's always been about taking in other cultures and making them Japanese. The blending of the native Shinto and imported Buddhist architecture is the perfect example.
I learned a few really interesting things too. Like that fact that the design of Shinto shrines started with rice storehouses. And in our era of conceptually planned everything, I was amazed to leant that the temple complex at Nikko had the leading artist of the day work out a complex colour scheme for the site - multiple buildings and paths climbing a mountain side. Never would have suspected this - sounds pretty modern for the 1600s.
This book also reinforced my view on eBooks of a certain kind - titles like this one that depend heavily on pictures and sidebar stories. I happened to have copies of the book and the ebook. I started electronically but at times the pictures and accompanying text just seemed out of place (and too small). Going to the printed copy the text and graphics were anchored on the pages - and the context was so much clearer.
The Art of Japanese Architecture is a wonderful journey through the history of buildings in Japan. The book traces the origins of what we see today right back to pre-historic times.
It's amazing to see influences traced back hundreds and even more than 1,000 years. It says something about the timeless nature of Japanese design.
The story is a lesson in Japanese culture - and how much it's always been about taking in other cultures and making them Japanese. The blending of the native Shinto and imported Buddhist architecture is the perfect example.
I learned a few really interesting things too. Like that fact that the design of Shinto shrines started with rice storehouses. And in our era of conceptually planned everything, I was amazed to leant that the temple complex at Nikko had the leading artist of the day work out a complex colour scheme for the site - multiple buildings and paths climbing a mountain side. Never would have suspected this - sounds pretty modern for the 1600s.
This book also reinforced my view on eBooks of a certain kind - titles like this one that depend heavily on pictures and sidebar stories. I happened to have copies of the book and the ebook. I started electronically but at times the pictures and accompanying text just seemed out of place (and too small). Going to the printed copy the text and graphics were anchored on the pages - and the context was so much clearer.
May 14, 2020
Summary:
I thought this book would be super boring, but I actually found it quite interesting. It helps that the rather dense text is offset by some absolutely gorgeous illustrations and images depicting Japan's diverse architecture. The book ties together all the influences and styles of architecture that Japan has seen over the years. It's interesting to see how throughout different time periods various internal cultural events and external events reshaped Japan's buildings. This includes the interesting interaction between Buddhism, Zen and Shinto and how this has manifested in buildings. It was also interesting to see how much goes into preservation and maintenance of Japan's older architecture. It's a pretty large financial and workforce burden, but I suppose this is offset by tourism.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese architecture. Yep, pretty niche.
The main message I took from this book is Japanese was actually heavily influenced by various styles and cultural aspects, but throughout all these styles a connection nature through the use of natural materials and top notch craftsmanship through attention to detail prevails.
Some notable points:
- The basic principles of Japanese architecture explained in the book include using natural materials and setting, balancing restraint and exuberance, attending to detail and merging indigenous and foreign influences while preserving the past.
- The simplest type of Ainu dwelling was a kashi. Basically a tripod with branches and woven mats forming the walls. When more space was needed, a beam was placed between two sets of tripods and enclosed to create a kucha. Larger houses were called chise and the entrance was called semu. Poro-chise are the large houses.
- Ainu winter houses were called toi-chise (house of dirt) and were built by erecting a roof over a pit and covering it with earth to retain the heat. These houses were found in Sakhalin as late as 1946.
- Ainu villages (kotan) were located in food-gathering areas. For example, in spring they lived along the seashore where the collected fish and seaweed; in summer they lived in the mountains where they hunted animals and collected wild vegetables and berries; and in winter they lived in valleys protected from wind and snow.
- In 1899, the government enacted the Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law, encouraging the Ainu to live in permanent villages and to cultivate the land. However, there was little land available, as Japanese people had been immigrating to Hokkaido since the fifteenth century. Laws prohibiting traditional customs and food-gathering practices led to the decline of traditional culture and language, as well as to an overall lower standard of living.
- In the twentieth century, the Hokkaido prefectural government established housing programs for the Ainu but the houses were so small and poorly built that the Ainu preferred to live in traditional style houses next to the government buildings.
- A buddhist area in Nara, Todaiji, housed a great bronze 17 metre high Buddha. It involved nearly 10 percent of the population to construct and required around 1,665,000 work days to complete.
- A Japanese teahouse is composed of two main elements: the building itself and the garden. Access to the building is sometimes through a low "crawl door", originally designed to prevent samurai from entering with their swords. It also symbolizes the fact that once inside, all participants are equal, regardless of rank.
- There is this old school town called Ogimachi with massive wooden houses with straw, reed and grass thatched roofs. It takes several months to collect and dry the grass for a new roof, tie it into bundles, and organise a workforce of several hundred people to replace the existing roof. Unfortunately, the cost of replacing a roof is becoming prohibitive, up to half a million US dollars.
- The key aesthetic people might think of with the tatami mats, the sparse interior and use of wood is most likely the shoin or sukiya style.
I thought this book would be super boring, but I actually found it quite interesting. It helps that the rather dense text is offset by some absolutely gorgeous illustrations and images depicting Japan's diverse architecture. The book ties together all the influences and styles of architecture that Japan has seen over the years. It's interesting to see how throughout different time periods various internal cultural events and external events reshaped Japan's buildings. This includes the interesting interaction between Buddhism, Zen and Shinto and how this has manifested in buildings. It was also interesting to see how much goes into preservation and maintenance of Japan's older architecture. It's a pretty large financial and workforce burden, but I suppose this is offset by tourism.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Japanese architecture. Yep, pretty niche.
The main message I took from this book is Japanese was actually heavily influenced by various styles and cultural aspects, but throughout all these styles a connection nature through the use of natural materials and top notch craftsmanship through attention to detail prevails.
Some notable points:
- The basic principles of Japanese architecture explained in the book include using natural materials and setting, balancing restraint and exuberance, attending to detail and merging indigenous and foreign influences while preserving the past.
- The simplest type of Ainu dwelling was a kashi. Basically a tripod with branches and woven mats forming the walls. When more space was needed, a beam was placed between two sets of tripods and enclosed to create a kucha. Larger houses were called chise and the entrance was called semu. Poro-chise are the large houses.
- Ainu winter houses were called toi-chise (house of dirt) and were built by erecting a roof over a pit and covering it with earth to retain the heat. These houses were found in Sakhalin as late as 1946.
- Ainu villages (kotan) were located in food-gathering areas. For example, in spring they lived along the seashore where the collected fish and seaweed; in summer they lived in the mountains where they hunted animals and collected wild vegetables and berries; and in winter they lived in valleys protected from wind and snow.
- In 1899, the government enacted the Hokkaido Ainu Preservation Law, encouraging the Ainu to live in permanent villages and to cultivate the land. However, there was little land available, as Japanese people had been immigrating to Hokkaido since the fifteenth century. Laws prohibiting traditional customs and food-gathering practices led to the decline of traditional culture and language, as well as to an overall lower standard of living.
- In the twentieth century, the Hokkaido prefectural government established housing programs for the Ainu but the houses were so small and poorly built that the Ainu preferred to live in traditional style houses next to the government buildings.
- A buddhist area in Nara, Todaiji, housed a great bronze 17 metre high Buddha. It involved nearly 10 percent of the population to construct and required around 1,665,000 work days to complete.
- A Japanese teahouse is composed of two main elements: the building itself and the garden. Access to the building is sometimes through a low "crawl door", originally designed to prevent samurai from entering with their swords. It also symbolizes the fact that once inside, all participants are equal, regardless of rank.
- There is this old school town called Ogimachi with massive wooden houses with straw, reed and grass thatched roofs. It takes several months to collect and dry the grass for a new roof, tie it into bundles, and organise a workforce of several hundred people to replace the existing roof. Unfortunately, the cost of replacing a roof is becoming prohibitive, up to half a million US dollars.
- The key aesthetic people might think of with the tatami mats, the sparse interior and use of wood is most likely the shoin or sukiya style.
May 22, 2022
A very historical and thorough look at architecture starting from the Jomon period in Japan. A little technical for me, but there were lots of cool sections of the evolution of architectural form and cultural use.
November 8, 2020
Love the drawings of ancient temples, houses and gardens together with the wide high quality pics. Truly inspirational and I wish it was ten times more detailed.
August 18, 2021
Amazing and acurate read of the Japanese architecture. Complete from shrines to emples to castles and palaces, it's was great to learn about everything.
August 28, 2022
Very informative.
November 15, 2022
Led to some really fun Wikipedia deep dives
April 18, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It was very informative and thorough on historical Japanese architecture. I learned a lot by reading this and I enjoyed all of the colorful photos.
I did find a pretty funny typo on page 118 that says "When the Shogawa river was damned..." instead of the proper word dammed.
I'm pretty sure they meant a dam was built across the river not that the river was cursed and condemned to hell.
Typo aside this is a great book on Japanese culture and architecture.
I did find a pretty funny typo on page 118 that says "When the Shogawa river was damned..." instead of the proper word dammed.
I'm pretty sure they meant a dam was built across the river not that the river was cursed and condemned to hell.
Typo aside this is a great book on Japanese culture and architecture.
December 3, 2014
The Art of Japanese Architecture takes a historic view of the evolution of Japanese architecture, along with outside influences from China, Korea and the west. While there are some palaces and manor houses, they are used to illustrate the progression of styles, not to simply glorify their size and complexity. I particularly enjoy the beautiful homes and shops of the middle/merchant class with their elegant simplicity.
If you want to "wander" around one of the lovely villages featured in The Art of Japanese Architecture, put "Ogimachi, Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan" in google maps and use street view to wander up and down village streets. Lovely and otherworldly.
If you want to "wander" around one of the lovely villages featured in The Art of Japanese Architecture, put "Ogimachi, Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, Japan" in google maps and use street view to wander up and down village streets. Lovely and otherworldly.
November 27, 2013
A good read, but the e-book is not as good as the original one, with small photos and split illustrations, and as most this kind of architecture books, it doesn't introduce concepts in a structural way, so only at the end of the reading, i could see the overall picture, now i have to go back to the beginning to pick up the bits and pieces I felt confusing.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews