Architecture

• During prehistoric times, there were no extant architectural sites and styles, and architecture was hardly mentioned even in the oldest Japanese texts
• Prehistoric Japanese houses


  • Had thatched roofs and dirt floors, but wooden floors were used in regions with high temperatures and humidity
• The most remarkable prehistoric tomb was the Daisen-kofun, the designated tomb of the Emperor Nintoku
• The oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world are found at Horyu temple in the Southwest of Nara, constructed in the early 7th century

  
• Todaiji in Nara was the most ambitious religious complex erected in the early centuries of Buddhism in Japan

  
• Japanese Buddhist architecture during the Heian period

  • Adopted the stupa in its Chinese form as a pagoda
  • Temples were erected in mountains
  • Used indigenous elements like cypress-bark roofs and wood planks instead of ceramic tiles and earthen floors

  
• Shinden zukuri


  Palatial or aristocratic mansions built during the Heian period, especially in the 10th century
• Amida Hall and Phoenix Hall (Ho-o-do) of the Byodoin

  Best example of Fujiwara Amida halls
• Architectural styles after the Kamakura period

  • Simple and sturdy
  • Samurai houses were a mixture of shinden-zukuri and turrets or trenches
• Buke-zukuri


  House for a military family, similar to the shinden-zukuri but made simple and practical
• It was during the Kamakura period that the tea ceremony was developed and practiced, leading to the construction of tea houses in a rustic style cottage that emphasized natural materials
• Himeji Castle


  A defensive structure built to house a feudal lord and his soldiers during the Azuchi-Momoyama period
• Ohiroma of Nijo Castle

  A shoin, serving as a reception hall and private study area designed to reflect the relationships of lord and vassal within a feudal society
• During the Edo period, architectural styles were simplified due to the need for easy reconstruction after frequent fires in the city of Edo
• In the 19th century, Japan was exposed to Western culture and was able to blend Japanese styles with Western influences
• Rustic style cottage


  Emphasized natural materials such as bark-covered logs and woven straw
• New forms of architectural styles were developed

  Azuchi-momoyama period
• Castle and shoin


  • Developed as responses to the militaristic climate of the times
• Himeji Castle


  • Also known as the White Heron Castle, a defensive structure built to house a feudal lord and his soldiers specifically during the times of trouble
• Ohiroma of Nijo Castle

  • An example of a shoin, which serves as a reception hall and private study area designed to reflect the relationships of lord and vassal within a feudal society
• Architectural styles were simplified

  Edo period
• Simplified architecture


  Necessary for easy reconstruction due to frequent fires in the city of Edo
• Japan was exposed to Western culture and blended Japanese styles with European architectural styles

  19th century
• Giyofu architecture


  Also called pseudo-Western-style architecture, resembled a western style but considered Japanese design techniques
• Giyofu architecture was common but eventually disappeared when Western techniques became prevalent

  Meiji period