During the prehistoric times, there were no extant architectural sites and styles. Architecture was even hardly mentioned even in the oldest Japanese texts.
When communities grew, so were the residential houses especially of the local ruling family and even rice storage houses that were in Sannai-Maruyama in Aomori and the Yoshinogari in Saga.
Tombs were constructed when a centralized administrative system was developed. The most remarkable was the Daisen-kofun which was the designated tomb of the Emperor Nintoku.
In the 8th century, temple building was focused at Todaiji in Nara. Todaiji is said to be the most ambitious religious complex erected in the early centuries of Buddhism in Japan.
It was during the Kamakura period that the tea ceremony was developed and practiced. The tea house was, therefore, constructed following a rustic style cottage that emphasized natural materials such as bark-covered logs and woven straw.