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Japanese Architecture
Term Paper ID:37260
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Essay Subject:
Discusses architectural material in Japanese architecture including discussion of the use of wood and ...... More...
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6 Pages / 1350 Words
6 sources, 14 Citations,
MLA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses the building materials in Japanese architecture, including discussion of the use of wood and the Metabolists. How the Japanese cultural expression is found in its architecture and choice of materials.
Paper Introduction:
Building Materials in Japanese Architecture Japan is an ancient society with a unique culture and history and adistinctly Japanese architectural style The Art of Japan Ingeneral architectural styles and specifically the building materials usedin a country region or a culture\'s man made structures reflect availablematerials In Italy and ancient Greece for example the presence of vastcaches of marble and limestone led to the development of temples civicstructures and private residences made of these substances In Japan wood was used extensively in the
Text of the Paper:
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There was great development in the moats, walls, and otherfortifications surround this and similar castles ("Guide to JapaneseCastle," 2). Concepts and Regions in Geography. Simplicity, frugality, and the use ofaccessible materials such as wood, limited stone, and natural plantsproducing fibers is characteristic of Japanese architecture throughout theages. This idea was spread among the people and evolved into a nation-wide movement to raze Buddhist temples. The Capsular Civilization. Ingeneral, architectural styles and specifically the building materials usedin a country, region, or a culture's man made structures reflect availablematerials. Despite the fact that Japanese cities andwooden structures have been repeatedly devastated by wars, earthquakes, andfires, wood has continued to be a primary building material used in manystructures. In Japan, Shintoism, the native belief of the Japanese people, had over the centuries found a way to harmonize and cohabit with the newer religion of Buddhism that had come from the continent in the 7th and 8th centuries. Tokyo: NAI Publishers, 2 4.Miwa, Hiroshi. According to Asian Info (1), the introduction of Buddhism into Japanaround 538 brought with it architects from the Korean peninsula with newtechniques reflecting the Chinese or Northern Wei style of Buddhistarchitecture. This style, exemplified in the Nara period from 71 to 794,was characterized by stable and balanced proportions and by an emphasis onstructure over ornamentation. New York: John Wiley, 2 3.De Cauter, L. At the same time, many castles were also destroyed, to be replaced by new governmental offices, schools, or military posts." The second wave of devastation, of course, occurred during World WarII. Consequently, Shinto shrines came to have Buddhist images and Buddhist priests as well as Shinto priests. In Japan, wood was used extensively in the ancient world and wellinto the modern era. The modernJapanese may not need large, wooden castles for defense purposes, but theycling to their traditional temples and shrines. While itis difficult to imagine a more modern or contemporary city than Tokyo, withits soaring glass and steel towers, its capsule hotels, its multiplicity ofblinking neon signage, and its technologically advanced transportationsystem, it is cities such as Nara and Kyoto that are most trulyrepresentative of the Japanese understanding of frugality and of thenecessity of using indigenous building materials to ensure aestheticcongruence between man-made structures and the land and climate in whichthey are found. "Architecture History." 2 6. Often, "houses are complemented by a garden and bamboo fence, whichintimately relates the architecture to the land. Almost every type of building, be it house, Buddhist temple, Shintoshrine, or castle, uses wood as its major structural material, with bricksgenerally made from baked soil for roofing until the dawn of the modernera." A large number of wooden buildings survive in the ancient Kansaicities of Nara and Kyoto. In other words,the simplistic choice of materials in Japanese architecture reflects thewidely accepted Japanese philosophy of frugality, seen by de Blij andMuller (297-298) as one cultural expression of Japanese homogeneity andnationalism represented as pride in and love of all things uniquely foundin Japan. The new, modern government wanted the people to fully understand that the start of the new Emperor-centered constitutional monarchy meant an end to the ways of the past, and to this end, the government promulgated an order to separate Buddhist temples from Shinto shrines. Works CitedAnonymous. This style was andcontinues to be highly important to Japan, and has greatly influenced thepractices of Western architecture ("The Art of Japan," 2). As a result, many Buddhist temples were destroyed up to about 1973. In Kansai, as described by Hiroshi Miwa (1), one finds the treasurehouse of Japanese architecture, "architecture that is known for its use orwood. In recent years, beginning in 1959, a group of Japanese architectsand city planners known as "the Metabolists" emerged with a vision of "acity of the future inhabited by a mass society" that would be"characterized by large scale, flexible, and extendable structures thatenable an organic growth process ("Metabolist Movement," 1). TheMetabolists elected to discard the traditional laws of form and functionand held that the laws of space and structural transformation held thefuture for both society and culture. In Italy and ancient Greece, for example, the presence of vastcaches of marble and limestone led to the development of temples, civicstructures, and private residences made of these substances. These shrines "werecustomarily destroyed every 2 years and then rebuilt in an exact replicaof the previous shrine ("The Art of Japan," 1). This is "a classiccase of technology, information, and law jointly alienating the nationalculture from the climactic characteristics of the country (Miwa, 3)." Today, in Japan, "there is a growing voice calling for the revaluingof the architectural beauty and grace most suited to the climate of Japanand warning of the threat posed to the global environment by modern build-and-scarp practices (Miwa, 4)." Ideologically, spiritually, andphilosophically, the Japanese attachment to wood remains strong. 2 6. Available at www.jcastle.info/castle/jsecastles.html.Anonymous. Available at http://library.thinkquest.org/27458/nf/architecture /history.html.De Blij, H.J. The rich tradition of Japanese architecture is exemplified in theshrines created by the Shinto ("The Art of Japan," 1). Additionally, Miwa (4) states that "Japanese people areenchanted by the life force of wood, by structures whose wooden componentscan resurrect so as to live as parts of buildings even after being cut fromtrees." It has also been suggested that "because the Japanese islands are ofvolcanic origin, structures of wooden timber have traditionally been thebasis for architecture. Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolist _Movement.The Art of Japan. From a sociological perspective therefore, the changes that have takenplace in Japanese architecture may be somewhat artificial. "The History and Future of Wooden Architecture inKansai." 1997. Fire resistant structuresusing steel and other modern materials have been developed, in part becauseof the Metabolist Movement. "Metabolist Movement." Wikipedia. "Guide to Japanese Castles." 2 6. An integral element of thisstyle is the capsule, seen as the architecture of the generic city, "anenclosed artificial environment" which are the "engines of simulations (DeCauter (45)." It is also important to recognize that the early Japanese castleswere constructed for defensive purposes and were situated with respect toimportant geographic locales ("Guide to Japanese Castles," 1). As described by De Cauter (67), thephilosophy of symbiosis is integral to the Metabolist Movement which isbased in Buddhism and represents a reconciliation between nature andculture, reason and creativity, technology and spirituality, East and West,and a combination of optimism and cynicism. According to Miwa (2), "Twice during the past century Japan experienced threats to its culture of using wood. For example, Himeji-Jo is a flatland-mountain castle that was built on a low mountain where a plain spread outbefore it. and Muller, Peter O. Building Materials in Japanese Architecture Japan is an ancient society with a unique culture and history and adistinctly Japanese architectural style ("The Art of Japan," 1). The samurailifestyle with its emphasis on the warrior cult was one that was integralto the Japanese cultural preference for using wood. The wooden Buddhist temples were banned underthe height restrictions of the Building Standards Law. Miwa (3) noted that even in many of the cities that were not bombed,large numbers of wooden houses and other structures were destroyed whenresidents fled to the countryside in part to prevent the spread of fire.After World War II, American architectural structures were introduced toJapan and wooden structures became less common. There is little stone for building or carving inJapan ("The Art of Japan," 1). The first was at the time of the Meiji Restoration, in 1868. One of the best known ofthe Shinto shrines is the Ise Shrine whose columns are made from cypresstrees, which contains four concentric fences and a traditional thatchedroof which together "convey a sense of purity, quality, and simplicity forthe shrine ("The Art of Japan," 1)." Most modern and domestic architecture in Japan remains remarkablycongruent with the style of these shrines and the typical ceremonial teahouse. It will be argued herein that the generalsociological ideology of a country, culture or people also has a directimpact upon the choice of materials used in architecture. Wanting to restress the original beliefs of the Japanese, the new Meiji Government outlawed this custom of integrated Shintoism- Buddhism and ordered the removal of everything Buddhist from Shinto shrines all over the country. Many of the great Japanese flatland andmountain castles are made of wood. Available at www.kaippo.or.jp/culture _e/build/history.htm. This emphasizes thenotion that frugality was very much at work in dictating the use ofbuilding materials in Japan. Miwa (1) states that "it is not well understood why Japanese peoplechose wood, rather than stone or soil, as a major building material." Onetheory suggests that wood is far less subject to weathering in coldclimates and therefore does not require painting.
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