Transcript

the architecture of japan

japan is an island country of east asia in the northwest pacific ocean
it is a part of the pacific ring of fire and comprises an archipelago of 6852 islands
covering 377th 975 square kilometers
tokyo is the country's capital and the largest city other major cities include osaka and nagoya
the country is divided into 47 prefectures each overseen by an elected governor legislature and
administrative
bureaucracy each prefecture is further divided into cities towns and villages
in the following table the prefectures are grouped by region
belly japan is shrouded in mystery pottery and tools left over by a mysterious prehistoric culture
known as
the german who were mostly hunter-gatherers and occasional farmers but soon there were
newcomers the yayoi
from korea who fought with strange shiny weapons and planted tons of rice
these people would form more and more small villages slowly displacing the german and creating
a fishing community
culture which obviously extends into japanese cuisine today traditional japanese beliefs focusing
on
spirit deities and complex rituals also began to coalesce and formed a usually related group of
beliefs we now call
shintoism the izuyoi soon formed a loose pseudomonarchy called the yamato period
which gets its name from the yamada clan the richest and most powerful of the japanese clans
and the period is usually
divided into two eras the kofun era named after these giant awesome keyhole-shaped burial
complexes had
heavy cultural contact with the korean peninsula through which they adopted the chinese writing
system the idea of an
emperor to unite the japanese islands really took off during the asuka era which coincided with
the spread of
buddhism in all that chinese writing and the japanese were soon to experience a sense of shared
identity evidence of
this can be found in this adorable letter from the japanese emperor to the chinese emperor in
which he addresses
himself as the emperor of the land where the sun rises and the chinese as the emperor of the
land where the sun sets
and then he said hello with pleasantries out of the way the japanese began sending diplomats
and
envoys to china to learn about its customs and culture to bring back to japan and boy did it absorb
a lot of
chinese culture not just writing vocabulary and architecture but also less tangible things like
customs
philosophy religious piety and an imperial court-like system the emotic clan even experimented
with land
collectivisation with the aim of curbing the power of rival clans to the imperial throne the emperor
moved his royal court
twice from asuka tanara and then from nara to heian kyo naming an era after each period but it
was basically the
same time period i the one we will focus on is the heian era it's hard to overstate just how
important han period
is to the history of japan the period saw a rise in an aristocracy interfering in japanese politics
bordering on an
oligarchy noble families or clans held great control over the imperial government
such as the taichikana minamoto tayera and the fujiwara clan even held a significant regency
over the emperor
with the title of daijo mostly by extensive marriage ties to the royal family as you can imagine
these clans
fought constantly with each other such as in the hojen rebellion where two branches of the
fujiwara clan supported
two different emperors which was so devastating it led to the heiji rebellion between the taiera
and the
minamoto clan made more confusing when you remember that some of these emperors were
often cloistered or retired it just
goes to show how much power and influence retired emperors still held in japan and how that
power could be
leveraged in a civil war both clans could claim the moral high ground claiming that they were
fighting for the
emperor let's take a break and look at how things are going outside the capital in the north the
japanese are fighting with the amish a frontier german yayoi
mixed population whose guerrilla warfare and horse archery was a real pain in the ass for the
japanese the only way they
were able to defeat them was by copying the amish horse arches and tactics leading to the first
heavily trained
military class in japan's history japanese soldiers before this had mostly been chinese-style
cloned peasants who
barely knew what a spear was but after the yamiche wars they were samurai highly specialized
warriors in the
martial arts an honour-based warrior class called who she their leader became
the shogun roughly equivalent to a general in english and anyone who knows anything about
these guys knows that
they become super important later so what did these samurai do when they found themselves
out of a job well some
became bandits but many of them were hired swords nobles used samurai as personal guards
and to collect taxes and
farmers hired samurai to protect them from their nobles who were there to collect taxes rinse and
repeat powerful clans emerged
and soon the samurai became more and more united basically pulling the strings and dominating
many parts of japanese society forming agreements
overseeing trade conducting raids and administering taxation remember those conflicts in the
capital the samurai
fought those wars and when the dust settled afterward it was clear that they held the power
the samurai class were reaching their peak of influence around the time of yet another clan war
but this one would
prove to be very different because it ended up toppling the entire political system the minamoto
clan defeated their
longtime rivals the tajira and with their newfound power the emperor granted minamoto no
yoritoma the title of shogun
but make no mistake he ruled japan now in the first shogunate or bafuku in
kamakura the emperor was now merely a figurehead so what made the shogun rule
different well rule was delegated to regional stewards called jito and governors called shugo who
ruled in the
place of the shogun in addition a regent was appointed over them called ashiken usually a
member of the powerful hojo
clan who had come to prominence by allying with the minimoto so much prominence in fact they
even became
rulers of japan and the shogun became the figurehead so if you're keeping track the emperor was
a figurehead for
the shogun and the shogun was a figurehead for the shiken this was feudal japan social mobility
ceased you were either born powerful or you stayed powerless so under this new system were
things
peachy short answer no in 1221 the cloistered emperor kotoba
rose up in rebellion against the hojo clan in the juke war which did little more than get himself
banished and
showed that the hojo clan were no pushovers the hojo shiken presided over japan's new faith zen
buddhism to help
them unite their domains but they also had the very unfortunate duty to have to deal with japan's
first ever foreign
invasion it's the mongols because of course it is as you'd expect kublai khan wasn't too
thrilled having an empire to his east and immediately although politely asked japan to submit to
them in a tributary
status over and over and over again but to no reply
the khan then did what mongol does best invade in 1276 the mongols landed in
japan and waited on their ships overnight to attack the next morning however being on a ship is
kind of the
last place you want to be if say i don't know a typhoon was to hit
and that's exactly what happened again the mongols invaded six years
later this time with more ships and a larger army but the japanese managed to hold them off
using extensive
preparation fortifications and a brand new weapon they invented called the katana which was
extremely effective
against mongol armor even so they were taking heavy casualties if only another typhoon would
come and
rescue the japanese from these foreign barbarians like it did the first time
and that's exactly what happened japanese philosophers and religious leaders were so perplexed
that a typhoon
had saved them again that they even named this strange phenomenon the divine wind or
kamikaze and thinking it must
have been sent by japanese spiritual deities a newfound resurgence in shintoism emerged the
mongol invasions
although failures really rocked japan's political system to its core which allowed an emperor to
briefly regain
control before his former ally ashikaga takahuji turned on him and seized the shogunate for
himself remember those
shugo governors from the previous shogunate while the shoguns and the emperors were off busy
fighting one another the shugo basically ruled
themselves they were no longer shugo but daimyo warlords so if you're keeping
track the emperor is a figurehead for the shogun who is a figurehead for the daimyo who really
have the control over japan
the only thing that could make this situation any worse would be another civil war the hasekawa
and the amana both
supported two different claimants to the shogunate and this ignited a powder keg all across japan
daimyo started fighting
one another for control fracturing japan even further and the whole social hierarchy crumbled
creating a power
vacuum small clans subjugated larger clans rivals turned allies and allies betrayed and invaded
you name it they
did it the era was so profoundly violent that it even became known as the sun goku judai the
warring states period it
was near constant warfare made more devastating by the implementation of these weird
portuguese hand cannons
called tanegashima it was also a period of extensive espionage with the daimyo spying on one
another assassinating each other and betraying one another constantly these spies are what we
now call ninja and
were so instrumental to the period that they became romanticized by european authors who were
absolutely fascinated
by japan one clan under odor nobunaga looked at a fractured map of japan famously stating
well this won't do and decided it was time for japan to unify the odor very narrowly won a battle
against the imagawa clan and cemented the tokugawa as allies in the process and an alliance in
this day and age was
bad news for the other daimyo who distrusted each other far too much for any alliances of their
own in the blink
of an eye the oda conquered the saito miyoshi steamrolled over the azai asakura and the ikawiki
before repelling
an invasion from the takeda it seemed that the only way to stop obanaga was to assassinate him
but even this backfired
when his steward toyotomi hideyoshi just continued the conquest in oda's name when his army
got bored he just decided
to let them invade korea which really wasn't a good idea because one they lost
and two they decimated their army in the process so when hideyoshi died his former ally
tokugawa ieyasu seized japan and was crowned shogun which was easy to do
since iyasu hadn't lost any troops in korea and thus was the only one in japan with any real army
with one last battle against toyotomi hideyoshi's son at shikigahara the tokugawa shogunate was
born
the tokugawa then did something so drastic it gives new meaning to the term overreaction the
disastrous defeat in
korea left such a bad taste in their mouth that the shogun closed japan no foreigners could enter
and no
japanese could leave remember in the china episode how the ming and later qing dynasties had
become isolationists
after they finally overthrew the mongols well japan the other power in the region had just closed
their gates as well and
thus the two most powerful empires in asia did basically nothing around the time the europeans
were bumping around
asia colonizing things there was literally no great asian nation to balance out the trade influence
and
conquest the europeans were doing in the 16 to 1800s meaning that japan and china
became extremely marginalized sitting on the sidelines turning away traders and decreasing their
foreign interactions we
already know how this story ends in china with the europeans basically crushing the chinese and
seizing trade monopolies so how were things going in
japan at the time well the edo period is seen as pretty peaceful and prosperous albeit because
of the extremely strict caste system introduced by the tokugawa social mobility and uprisings
just weren't
feasible and the only ones with any weapons in the country were the samurai who were paid
handsomely by the shogun
to prevent misbehavior and they basically became glorified bureaucrats but as time went on the
isolationism
started to show some flaws firstly the opium wars shocked japan when they saw the dominant
asian power china dominated
and humiliated by the british and secondly a widespread famine a skyrocket
in the price of rice coincided with this famine creating a brand new wealthy farming class after
all the farmer
really is king when the people are hungry this completely upset the entire social
order and this new class had just gotten a taste for social mobility and hey it didn't turn out so
bad what was the
government worried about but everything should still be just fine as long as japan keeps its doors
closed
oh no the us navy arrived in japan in 1853 to
end japan's closed country policy commanded by commodore matthew perry no sorry not that
matthew perry crash
course already made that joke the americans were motivated to open japan to open up a trade
sphere in asia to
protect their shipping and whaling industry in the area with just a sprinkle of manifest destiny
thrown in
there as well so using gunboat diplomacy the americans opened up trade with japan in other
words open up or we'll shoot you the inevitable opening of the country happened and this
infuriated the daimyo
how could the shogun allow the americans to humiliate them so badly with such an unequal treaty
as happened in china the
same year the trade treaty was signed japan was rocked by two devastating earthquakes and
tsunamis which just felt
like a bad omen so what did the japanese ruling class do modernize
remember that small dutch trading port we talked about earlier for centuries now japan had had
this seedy underbelly
of studying dutch literature smuggling books in and out and creating an underworld network of
studious and
enlightened figures so these enlightened and progressive nobles were shaping up to fill a power
vacuum when japan was on the brink of
revolution who would deliver that revolution calm down i'll tell you it was these guys they plan to
overthrow
the shogun and restore the emperor to power in the boshin war that followed between the two
sides the rebels
proclaimed the appointment of meiji or enlightened rule to bring japan into the modern era the
deposition of the shogun
and the restoring of the imperial court had once again rocked japan to its core out with the old
and in with the new new
economy new trade new western style government manufacturing science and medicine even
edo was renamed to tokyo
factories and trains popping up everywhere japan was entering an industrial revolution a century
after
the great powers and at breakneck speeds largely thanks in part to those dutch bookworms
here we see a major difference in how the japanese and the chinese isolationists had responded
to outside
pressure while the qing dynasty had fractured and collapsed into the warlord era japan had unified
embracing 19th
century nationalism devotion to one's country modernization and industrialization
with it of course came the dark side of such ultra-nationalism as well like a pretty serious
superiority complex which
the government was all too happy to stoke at the time this was seen as the only way for japan to
maintain its
independence especially during the 20th century arms race but it's slowly morphed into a
prosperity fallacy we
must be doing so well because we're better than other people this would come back later
japan's massive military started looking outward projecting japan's might was the only way to
ensure her own security no
one wants to end up like china humiliated and crumbling in civil war
their massive military annexed the ryuku islands and then astonished the world by going to war
with china and winning the
first sino-japanese war taking control of taiwan and occupying the dagger
pointed at the heart of japan also known as korea and then just four years later the
japanese helped put down the boxer rebellion the world barely had time to pick up their jaws from
the ground when
japan defeated russia in a war for dominance over manchuria this brand new japanese army had
just
won three wars against two major powers in the space of a decade you'd kind of forgive the
japanese leadership for
thinking this ultra nationalism stuff was working the victories in the far east had set
japan up as a regional power and it wasn't long before they formed an alliance with the british
who shared
japan's hostility with russia at the time but when the first world war broke out the japanese found
themselves on the
same side as britain not fighting the russians but the germans no not those germans these ones
right
here germany didn't really have much capacity to protect cintao and so of course these
areas became integrated into japan as well but the victory became core to the building of german
japanese relations
the german soldiers were so impressed with the japanese army that they openly admired them
and even showed them a sign
of great respect as they paraded through the city while turning their backs on the british soldiers
when they entered
the most notable outcome of the first world war was japan dethroning china as the asian
superpower they responded to
the european threat adjusted accordingly and now they had the military victories to back it all up
their alliance with
the british and the western general slowly began to sour as the other allies in the untant failed to
show them the
proper respect they thought they deserved it's not surprising then that interwar japan is where
things get a
little messy the military continued to protect its influence in manchuria eventually invading the
area in 1931
after fabricating a chinese attack on one of their trains and when the international community in
the form of
the league of nations condemned their actions the japanese delegates responded by simply
leaving the japanese
ambassadors thought it was pretty hypocritical of the western powers to prevent japan from
forming an empire
when they had vast empires of their own especially when japan had such huge economic ties to
the region and were
battling the great depression same as everyone else this underlying feeling of hypocrisy
should sound familiar to what was happening in germany and italy at the same time and how
these three nations
dealt with coming comparatively late to the empire building game of course this is just one of the
many underlying
causes for what happened next but diplomatic isolation very much added to
the superiority complex other nations are simply jealous of us so as the chinese civil war raged
on the
japanese were finally ready to assert themselves against their historic rival and invaded china in
yet another
fabricated incident with their entire military might they barreled down on the chinese mainland
fighting both the communists and the kmt in a united front however the war became
something far more hostile as the japanese began committing atrocities from the rape of nanking
to the
extremist treatment of prisoners of war japanese war culture was heavily honor-based and so
they treated
surrendered armies with malicious contempt the rape of nanking was so brutal that it sounds
relations with
china to this day through territorial expansion and an ideology of superiority japan soon found
a friend in nazi germany and joined the axis powers in 1940 officially intertwining the european
and asian wars
into the second world war invading and taking control of british french and dutch colonies while
germany
and italy were attacking the british french and dutch at home the japanese are now largely
remembered for their
attacks on pearl harbor but what is often left out is that the attack was part of a larger operation
attacking
both the americans and the british holdings in the pacific but which had the consequence of
bringing the united
states into the war in hindsight this is seen as a bit of a backfire since the japanese were now
fighting a gargantuan
forefront war but this just goes to show how invincible the japanese saw themselves even so the
japanese were
brutal occupiers and fought to the death to defend their conquered territories with some of the
bloodiest conflicts in
burma where a quarter million of the casualties were civilians or in okinawa which had the highest
american
casualties in the pacific however no one would fare as badly as the chinese with
the second highest casualties of the entire war at the hands of the japanese between 8 and 12
million people
mostly civilian even as italy and germany were occupied the japanese just kept fighting even
with the us leveling cities like tokyo it took two of humanity's most destructive weapons to get
them to
surrender the atomic bombs these brand new nuclear weapons were so devastating
that they leveled these cities and the radioactive fallout would cause deaths and health problems
for many years to
come and they left such a bad taste in the world's mouth that to this day they are the only nuclear
weapons ever used
in warfare the post-war economic miracle and pacification of japan is very much
intertwined with the american involvement in asia during the korean war and the broader cold war
as a whole
but what is particularly bizarre about postwar japan is how education about the war in japanese
schools worryingly
referenced the second world war as a defensive patriotic war rather than one about their own
military aggression
especially since japan is such a friendly popular and non-hostile nation today but there's no
denying its
noteworthiness and education is really important it can shape the way we see
our past and build our future understanding the motivations for the japanese empire as well as
the complex
geopolitical and geosocial history can help us frame our world and our lives more complexly it is
important to keep
learning and improving our minds even long after we leave school
the name for japan in japanese is written using the kanji and pronounced nippon or nihon
before it was adopted in the early 8th century the country was known in china as wah and in japan
by the endonemia
mato nippon the original xeno-japanese reading of the characters is favored today for official
uses the country is
one of the most densely populated countries in the world where 84 to 96 of
the japanese population subscribed to buddhism or shinto 73 of japan is forested mountainous
and
unsuitable for agricultural industrial or residential use as a result the habitable zones mainly
in coastal areas have extremely high population densities approximately 0.5
of japan's total area is reclaimed land the country is substantially prone to
earthquakes tsunami and volcanoes because of its location along the pacific ring of fire
it has 108 active volcanoes which are primarily the result of large oceanic
movements destructive earthquakes often resulting in tsunami occur several times
each century
an overview of their architecture austere construction methods lightweight materials and porous
boundaries between
inside and outside are all hallmarks of traditional japanese architecture
if you see japanese temples made of wood you can see how the architecture is made up they
have a clear construction and
transparency and they are quite simple while western architects would battle the elements the
japanese admiring their
power have sought ways to exploit their charms western architects over the centuries
have traditionally chosen strong resistant stone to overpower nature to produce monumental and
towering
structures while japanese architects aim to be more in harmony with nature and chose wood as
their predominant building material
also while western architecture has often featured spires and other vertical features that intended
to show the power
of god and man over nature japan temples and shrines usually stress the
horizontal and were often relatively small and hidden by trees and other natural objects
japan is credited with inventing minimalist design unlike western architects who have
traditionally tried to make their buildings interesting to look at by adding unnecessary decorations
and
arranging modules of differing heights japanese architects focus on making their structures
sublime and mysterious
on a horizontal level it has been said that with traditional japanese architecture you start with one
room and take a great effort to get that right before moving on to the next room
historically architecture in japan was influenced by chinese architecture although the differences
between the two
are many whereas the exposed wood in chinese buildings is painted in japanese
buildings it traditionally has not been also chinese architecture was based on a
lifestyle that included the use of chairs while in japan people customarily
sat on the floor methods for buddhist architecture were introduced by two skilled workers from
the pekja kingdom in korea in 577. the skills they introduced were used to
construct japan's first buddhist temple the asokamura in asuka in the nara prefecture
in the late 7th century four temples the asukadera kawadera yukushi and
daikandarji were built they were financed by the government and built by skilled construction
workers
and sculptors formed into teams elite workers learned the latest architecture methods from
delegates who
traveled abroad on kantoshi ships to tang dynasty china
in 710 when the capital of japan was moved 18.4 kilometers from fujiwara kyo
to present day nara city an unprecedented construction boom ensued
three of the four temples yakushi asukadera and daikan daiji were moved to
new sites and the kofokuji was built by fujiwara fujito a noble man who
orchestrated the move to nara nara city itself was modeled after changhan the capital city of tang
dynasty china the city was divided into western capital and eastern capital which
together measured 4.9 kilometers from north to south and 4.3 kilometers from
east to west
the architecture in japan has also been influenced by the climate summers in most of japan are
long hot and humid a
fact that is clearly reflected in the way homes are built the traditional house is raised somewhat
so that the air can move around and beneath it wood was the material of choice because
it was cool in summer warm in winter and more flexible when subjected to earthquakes
there are six principal climatic zones in the japanese archipelago
the six elements of japanese traditional architecture
japanese traditional architecture is dominated by wood due to the humidity the risk of
earthquakes and the possibility of typhoons wood became preferred over stone and other
materials as it led to
proper ventilation to combat the climate and was durable in the face of natural disaster
in older japanese homes no paint was coated onto the walls of the buildings as a way of showing
appreciation
they valued the wood showing respect by not covering its natural beauty to the eye
further many structures especially temples and shrines refrain from using nails instead they
shape the frames of
the building to fit like puzzle pieces interlocking them together sturdily this
way known as tokyo japanese architecture values sustainability and deep connections to
nature the japanese minimalistic use of materials says much about its mindset
japanese carpentry was developed more than a millennium ago through chinese architectural
influences such as ancient
chinese wood architecture and the use of woodworking joints it involves building wooden
furniture
without the use of nails screws glue or electric tools japanese carpenters have traditionally
lavished as much attention on the frames of their buildings as westerners gave to their furniture
partly because japanese shrines and houses have traditionally had very little furniture
before hand operated power tools were introduced in japan in 1943 the japanese
carpenter's tool chest contained 179 items mostly woodworking tools
japanese and asian carpenters tend to saw and plane towards the body rather than away from it
as western carpenters
do and sometimes maneuver around the outside of tall structures on poles
rather than western style scaffolding
traditional japanese wood structure have few nails early european visitors to japan were so
impressed by the perfect fit of the swallow tail joints at the corner of the doors and windows
japanese carpenters
and architects use their skills not to decorate wood surface but rather to maximize the effect of
unadorned wooden
surfaces variations are made with different woods and grains and even finishes
japanese lumber yards pieces of wood are not piled by big stacks as they are in
western lumber yards rather they are organized by collar and grain cut logs are sometimes tied
together in
positions as they occupied while they were in a living tree there are no textbooks on shrine and
temple carpentry
skills are passed down through the apprenticeship system
all japanese houses relied on movable screens called shoji and sliding doors
called fusoma this is to divide and redivide rooms as necessary the screens
tend to be light and papered allowing some light and shadows into the rooms
heavier shutters were sometimes used to close off the outside of the house glass windows were
not even a feature
the screens and sliding doors still used in houses today were some of the first architectural
exports from japan to gain
popularity in the west
the tatami typically made of rice straw at the center with covering of soft rush straw
the tantami mats were used for a large part of the flooring in houses providing a soft surface on
which to sit and sleep
tatami mats remain popular today with many new flats and houses having at least one tatami
room
the basic structure of the tatami is comprised of the doko or the base the omote or the cover
and the hairy or border the subtle scent of the tummy blends with the wood to
create a unique smell that defines traditional japanese houses
the veranda older japanese houses tend to have a raised wooden veranda that runs around
the outside edge of the house this is called an ingawa and is like an outdoor
corridor
the gen khan japanese houses even today always have a sunken space between the front door
and
the rest of the house this area is called the genghan it is considered the dirty place and
separates the home from the outside and it is where shoes are placed again khan has long been
a practical way of keeping
the family living space clean
the japanese architecture and its relationship with nature japan's shinto and buddhist beliefs
influenced architecture right down to the residential level with buildings reflecting a strong
emphasis on humans
relationship with nature this is evident in the focus on natural light in old houses as well as the
use
of wood in its raw form it also comes through the strategic design of houses to offer good views
into the natural world and the change of seasons they're in
the features of japanese architecture
post and linto structures provide traditional japanese buildings with the strength over a wide area
instead of laying cornerstone to dedicate a new building japanese builders plant a decorative and
symbolic
ridge pole in an important ceremony that gives thanks to the gods and asked them
to make the buildings durable and safe another important factor that shaped japanese wood
architecture was the
abundance of cypress trees in japan cypress is a soft wood with grains running straight along the
length of the
tree which makes it easy to cut into timber early japanese carpenters didn't even
develop cross-cut sauce or planes which are necessary to fashion woods with uneven grains
cypress also has an appealing texture and fragrance which make it ideal for an adorned wooden
surface
a traditional japanese interior features a multitude of partially screened geometrically arranged
rooms with
sliding doors that can be opened to create large spaces or clothes to create private rooms
the translucent paper walls between the rooms allowed people to see the shadows in the next
rooms but not clearly see
what was making the shadows
the most expressive element of japanese architecture is the roof the roof mainly comprises of
the mune
hafu hira and natsuma the different roof styles are the irimoya kirizuma hogyo and yosemune
the types of roof are categorized according to the materials used
the roof in a traditional japanese structure is made of heavy timbers placed on right angles
and the sheer weight of it is what keeps the structure in place trusses were rarely used until
japanese
architecture was westernized and even today japanese engineers say that the heavier the roof is
the more stable the
structure is because japanese buildings rest on columns at ground level instead of a deep
foundation so they can sway
and bounce in an earthquake rather than buckle and collapse a heavy roof holds the structure
together and stabilizes the swaying many traditional structures such as castles are built without
nails instead
the use of various kinds of joinery and tongue and groove construction
the traditional japanese house
the development of japanese architecture the succeeding slides will cover
periodic developments and their contribution to japanese architecture
the german period the typical german house was a pit house that had a main pillar whose hole
was
dug the widest and deepest into the ground and that was surrounded by other wooden upright
supporting posts
earlier houses tended to be conical or have floors that were circular later houses had square or
rectangular
floors with rounded corners the roofs supported by five or six posts
had a central pillar were thatched with kaya grass that helped drains off rain water into the
surrounding ditches
the earthen floors tampered hard were sometimes sunk half a meter into the ground or
sometimes covered with
flagstone indoor fireplaces were common as were storage pits and smoking ditches
apart from the common pit dwelling houses some settlements had raised buildings that were
probably storage
houses or warehouses hundreds of these raised storage houses and more than 800 pit houses
were found
at the site of the sani maruyama village in addition the large building with huge
columns is an outstanding architectural feature of the sanai maruyama ruins
long houses were built in the largest settlements of the jomon era at the izu wakamatsu site in
fukushima
prefecture long houses were excavated from a ring-shaped settlement surrounded
by drainage ditches that was of the middle jomon period between four thousand to five thousand
years ago
three fireplaces fit one long house woodworking was an important craft or
skill of the german people used for making dugout canoes wooden vessels and especially for
building the german people made wooden frames for the walls of storage pits and for the
posts of their buildings
yayoi period during the yayoi period around 400 bc to
380 several architectural advances were made in their buildings
the yayoi people built many elevated buildings or buildings that were raised above the ground with
the building
supported by six or eight posts this advanced type of architecture was
built with wooden beams made of planks of regular shape with floors doors and
slanted supporting poles the buildings with their raised floors had ladders carved of a single piece
of
wood they also had wooden disks that were protective devices against rats attached
to the post just under the floor as well as the top of the entrance of the ladder
other yayoi architecturally advanced forms were the buildings that had the irimoya thatched roofs
that flared out
at the sides this flared roof style became the style for residences or palaces otherwise
known as mia for shaman leaders chiefs and other elite tribal members of
society humbler dwellings were built over shallow pits like homes of the earlier
german period however unlike the german pith houses many iowa
buildings did not have indoor fireplaces and so must have been colder residences
than those of the jomon period fifth houses were of two kinds the
round-pit houses which were influenced by the building styles in the korean peninsula and the
square pit houses with
rounded off corners which was a continuation of the jomon tradition
atyoshi nogari the largest of yayoi sites in japan there is evidence that many large
residences for local chiefs and leaders meeting in ceremonial halls
race floor granaries were constructed it is thought that many structures such as watch towers
and enclosing palisades had
been constructed for defensive purposes
the kofone period the kofon era lasted from 250 ad to 538
a.d this era is marked by the feverish fad of tumuli building activity that began
in japan from around late 3rd century which did not end until 710 a.d
large to very large trumulai known as kofun in japanese were built for
prominent deceased elite rulers and kings there were about thirty thousand known
kofuntum mounds over five thousand of these can still be visited in japan today
along with the tumuli today many evidences were uncovered of an amazing culture of the kofun
mount builders the
irrigation techniques of the day were extremely advanced the construction techniques for building
the tombs were
mind-blowing and as the tombs got more massive and monumental in size so did
the treasures within them the technology for all these achievements is attributed
to influences from the asian continent the period is proto-historic which means
that while japan didn't yet have its own written language there were historical records and
chronicles by neighboring
peoples on the chinese continent and the korean peninsula snatches of which
described events and happenings of the kofun period it was a period of cultural import
continuing from the yayoi period the kofun period is characterized by a strong influence from the
korean
peninsula archaeologists consider it a shared culture across the southern korean
peninsula the kyosho and honshu the word kofun is japanese for the type
of burial mount dating from this era and archaeology indicates that the mount tombs and material
culture of the elite
were similar throughout the region from china buddhism and chinese writing
system were introduced near the end of the period the kofun period recorded japan's
earliest political centralization when the yamato clan rose to power in southwestern japan
established the
imperial house and helped control trade droughts across the region
the asuka period the asuka period marked an era when buddhism blossomed in japan
the tumuli building activities of the earlier age were replaced by temple and capital building efforts
the feverish buddhism-driven construction activities transformed asuka and transformed japan
they built temples and buddhist cloisters chinese style compounds and built tall imposing
pagodas and palaces
the buildings with their white walls in vermilion painted columns and white walls with green
windows and grand roof
tiles made a striking site for all those who lived and visited the capital
in the 7th century a group of buildings comprised basic structures
the pagoda the main hall the lecture hall the bell tower a repository for
sutras the dormitory and the dining hall
the asuka period is characterized by its significant artistic social and political transformations
having their
origins in the late kofun period but largely affected by the arrival of buddhism from china
the introduction of buddhism marked a change in japanese society the asuka period is also
distinguished
by the change in the name of the country from wa to nihon the temple architecture of the sukha
period relied heavily on the influence of chinese architecture compared to the simple design and
construction of shinto shrines the temples that were being developed in the chinese style were
very sophisticated in
their construction techniques and decoration the japanese greatly admired the chinese
culture which became very influential in japan the planning and construction
techniques of china's tang dynasty were studied and applied to japanese architecture
on the other hand the architecture did not completely imitate the architecture of china
many variables dictated a significant difference in aesthetics and style
although many fine examples of temples were built during the asuka period they were
constructed of wood and many have
burned down or been destroyed by war
nara period in japanese history the nara period in which the imperial government was at
nara and synthesization and buddhism were most highly developed
nara the country's first permanent capital was modeled on the chinese tang dynasty capital
changan
nara artisans produced refined buddhist sculptures and erected grand buddhist temples
a network of roads that connected the capital with the remote provinces chinese language and
literature were
studied intensively the chinese characters were adapted to the japanese language and numerous
chinese
manuscripts particularly the buddhist scriptures were copied during the nara period lasting from
about 710 to 784 a.d new temples were constructed in the city rather than out
in the rural areas out in the plains as they had during the asuka period so that
the temple's patrons could be closer and therefore supply the temples with funding
as a result of the increase in attention from rich patrons in the imperial family
temples from this period exhibited monumental scale and grandeur that had never been seen and
would not be
approached again until the modern times similar to the asuka period the japanese
relied heavily on the outside influences such as korea but predominantly china
the architecture during the nara period borrowed many elements from tang dynasty in china which
was deeply focused on
buddhism as a result most important monuments from this time are buddhist temples
the city of nara itself is a noted work of this time by the time empress gen may
assumed power she devoted herself to the construction of a city inspired in shanghan
the new city was named heijo kyo the urban designers duplicated many
important elements of the chinese capital such as the great layout of streets
the city was an important point of the silk road and became a center of buddhist worship in japan
even the shinto architecture the traditional japanese style of architecture was beginning to be
swayed
by the influence of buddhist temple architecture as buddhism rose to become the main religion
of japan
both temples and shrines were becoming far more elaborate and decorative than the traditional
japanese architecture
where simplicity and natural materials were deemed more expressive during the nara period the
power and
influence of buddhism grew under the supervision of buddhist monks who had studied in and
returned from tang china
temples in japan accumulated vast land holdings during this era their priests
gained tremendous political influences particularly during the reigns of emperor shomo and
empress shotoku
most of the buildings of this period were made out of wood usually painted in black red and
golden colors the roofs
were commonly covered with blue tinted tiles and the ends of the roof that project from the walls
known as eaves
were usually elevated at the corners most buildings of this time however have suffered
earthquakes fires and other
severe damage so there are not so many examples still standing
the heian period the early hayen period spanned a period between 794 a.d and about 900 a.d the
chinese pattern of centralized government that was first adopted in the nara period gradually
changed as the
growth of private estates or showing exempt from taxation encroached upon the
public domain and reduced the substance of state administration from the mid 9th century the
court was
dominated by members of the fujiwara family who controlled the imperial line as regents by
marrying their daughters
to imperial heirs the hayyan period was a time of strong social separations
the nobility enjoyed times of peace and a quiet life promoting the development of different arts
however they lived
separated from the common people often ignoring the problems outside the capital
the architecture of the heian period was mainly related to the construction of the new capital and
the structures of
the nobility living in it the increasing size of buildings in the capital led to an architecture reliant
on columns regularly spaced in accordance with the can a traditional measure of both size and
proportion
was inspired by the chinese capital of the time changhan unfortunately there are almost no
remains of the ancient city it was planned following a grid layout with a wide main avenue at the
center ending in
the royal palace most buildings for the public administration were built along the main
avenue and were wood structures with a row of columns in the front usually the wood was painted
red and the
roofs were covered with green tiles and had raised ends the buildings of the royal palace were
built similarly the private homes were smaller often without tiles on the roof
and usually built entirely out of wood the emperor wanted to keep the buddhist
clergy far from the royal palace therefore only two buddhist temples were allowed in the new
capital surrounding
the hills as a result the structures became more modest the layout of the aristocratic
houses was adapted for the temples they had fewer chinese influences and some native
elements were incorporated like
wood plank floorings and hidden roof formed by an outer stepped decorative roof and a second
structure underneath
serving as a ceiling hiding the drainage fixtures
the mountain temples abandoned the strict symmetrical plan in favor of a much more uneven
convoluted plan that
stemmed from the lack of smooth topography the mountainous terrain they began to inhabit
made it impractical to attempt a
plan based on a strong central axis instead the various halls of the temples were placed on many
different levels and
wherever a flat piece of land could be found the topography also contributed to the
smaller size of temples from this period because larger ones simply would not fit
anywhere many of the temples of this era had buildings that were placed at irregular
intervals and were supported by rocks or wood trestles on the uneven ground
the residences for the aristocracy were built as large symmetrical houses with
one long wing on each side often enclosing a pond or a garden this style became known as
shinden
zukori the structures were made out of wood they only had one storey and were often
raised above the terrain wood was also used for the floors the roofs were covered with tiles and
the
central buildings had the dormitories of the house lord and the other areas were located next to
it
the wings were usually long corridors open to the central garden or sometimes
used as entryways the shindesukori developed into shoinzokuri and the sukiyasukori which
are detached tea house type architecture during the kamakura period it later
developed into the buki zukuri or a housing for the military family
the following are the parts of the shinden zukuri
another type of architecture found during the heian period is the minka minka refers to the house
of the people
and are known as vernacular houses constructed in any of the several traditional japanese
building styles
in the context of the four divisions of society minka were the dwellings of the farmers artisans
and merchants
the three non-samurai castes minka are characterized by their basic structure the roof structure
and the
roof shape the minka come in a wide range of styles and sizes largely as a result of
differing geographic and climatic conditions as well as the lifestyle of the inhabitants
they generally fall into one of the four classifications farmhouses or noca
townhouses or machia fisherman's dwelling or gyoka
and a mountain dwelling or sankha
heavy materials like stone mortar and clay were abandoned as building elements
with simple wooden walls floors and partitions becoming more prevalent
native species like cedar or sugi in japanese were popular as interior finish
because of its prominent grain while pine and lark were common for structural uses
brick roofing tiles and the type of cypress called hinoki were used for roofs
it was sometime during this period that the hidden roof a uniquely japanese solution to roofing
drainage problems
was adopted
despite the fact that china and korea had a big impact and influence on the architecture in the
asuka period the
heian period was a time when japanese started to develop their own style their inspirations
towards their
buildings was their country itself due to japan being a tight island distant from other countries
they
thought their buildings had to reflect of this as well being completely unique
foreign influences were cut off japan turned to its own ideas behind architecture to create a purely
japanese
architecture
while buddhist architecture flourished during the nara period the indigenous shinto architecture
and the domestic
architecture of the aristocrats and other wealthy people developed simultaneously
it was not until the fall of the tang dynasty that japanese buddhist architecture responded to the
architectural trends developing within japan by adopting the architecture of the villas and
courtyards for use in
buddhist temple architecture aristocratic architecture had been developing independent of
religious
architecture to suit the needs of the imperial family and the very wealthy the villas and detached
palaces they
built on the outskirts of kyoto influenced the return of the temples from the mountains back to
the cities
the temple layouts of this era began to center around landscape gardens and ponds a practice
previously found in
villas but adapted for use in temples the evolution of buddhism to the new
jodha buddhism appealed more to aristocrats because of the belief that praying towards an
image of buddha was
the most essential components towards salvation this enticed the wealthy to build their
own prayer halls on their villa or manure and from there evolved many of the temples of this period
a private prayer hall and manor could easily be converted into a monastery and would also
virtually guarantee the
noble's passage towards salvation and rebirth into the western paradise
shinto architecture is the architecture of japanese shinto shrines with a few exceptions like the
ise grand shrine and
the izomo taisha shinto shrines before buddhism were most temporary structures
erected to a particular purpose buddhism brought to japan the idea of permanent shrines and the
presence of
verandas stone lanterns and elaborate gates some of which are used both in a
shinto shrine and the buddhist temple the composition of a shinto shrine is extremely variable
and none of its
possible features are necessarily present even the honden or sanctuary the part
which houses the kami and which is the centerpiece of a shrine can be missing however since its
grounds are sacred
they usually are surrounded by a fence made of stone or wood called tamagaki
while access is made possible by an approach called sando the entrances themselves are
straddled
by gates called the torii which are therefore the simplest way to identify a shinto shrine
a shrine may include within its ground several structures each destined to have a different
purpose
among them are the honden or sanctuary where the kami is enshrined the hayden or the hall of
offerings where offers
and prayers are presented the hidden or the hall of worship where there may be seats for
worshippers
the hondan is the building that contains the shintai literally the sacred body of
the kami of these only the hidden is open to the lady the honden is located behind the hiden
and is usually much smaller and unadorned other notable shrine features are the temizuya the
fountain where visitors
cleanse their hands and mouth and the shamusho the office that supervises the shrine shrines
can be
very large as the example the ise shrine or as small as a beehive as in the case
of a hokura a small shrine frequently found on roadsides
before the first separation of shinto and buddhism it was not uncommon for a buddhist temple
to be built inside or
next to a shrine or to the contrary for a shrine to include buddhist sub-temples
if a shrine was also a buddhist temple it was called a jinguji after the forcible separation of
buddhist temples and shinto shrines ordered by the new government in the meiji period
the connection between the two religions was officially severed but continued nonetheless in
practice
the kamakura period the kamakura period took place during 1185-1333
this was when technology was becoming more involved with architecture and this is how
technological advances were made
through building also due to the native requirements like earthquake resistance many architecture
designs were unique new and quite experimental the genpe war that took place in 1180 to
1185 also had a big impact on the architecture the damage the war cost
made the people have to rebuild shrines which came out to be much simpler and down to earth
like the heian period this
was also because their top priorities were military orders and not buildings
the defense and protection that the buildings provided became a top priority which meant that all
the buildings were
touched under one big roof then scattered around a garden
tea houses also became popular during this period they were very small spaces
held up by pillars and conservative materials it was said that tea houses were always
supposed to be around an atmosphere of calmness and meditation the only decorations that
would usually
be in the tea house were calligraphy scrolls or flowers ritual tea drinking which originated in
china was first practiced in japan during the kamakura period by zen monks who drank tea to
keep awake during long
sessions of meditation it later became an active part of zen ritual honoring the first patriarch
podhi dharma or in japanese daruma during the 15th century it came to be a
gathering of friends in an isolated atmosphere to drink tea and discuss the aesthetic merits of
paintings
calligraphy and flower arrangements displayed in a toconoma or quite often
to discuss the merits of the utensils themselves tea houses are called chashitsu
the bokeh zukori was a style of houses built for military families it was
similar in structure to the regular shinden zukuri with a few room changes to accommodate the
differences between
the aristocratic family and the military family during the time when military families
rose in power over the aristocrats the living quarters changed each lord had to
build extra space in order to keep his soldiers around him at all times with their weapons within
reach on the
grounds in case of a sudden attack to help guard against these attacks a yagura or tower was
built and torches
were scattered around the garden so they could be lit as quickly as possible with the increase of
people living under
the same roof extra rooms called hirobisashi or otherwise known as
spacious room under the eaves were built grouped around the shinden the zen show or kitchen
was also built
bigger in order to accommodate the required number of people needed to cook all the food for
the soldiers and the
members of the household
the sustaining periods of development of japanese architecture will be continued in the next
lecture
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the architecture of japan

the muromachi period the muromachi period represents the period in which the
architecture of
japan is finally completely free of influence from outside cultures spanning a period of
1392 until 1573 a.d
the temples of this period relied heavily on the influence of domestic architectural
design even more so than
during the heian period the zen buddhism characteristics found during this period are
decorative bent
roofs called mohoshi pronouncedly curved main roofs cusped windows called
katomato
earthen floors and panel doors all buildings are erected on stone
podiums and have either stone or earthen floors
the japanese rock garden called the kare san sui or dry landscape garden
often called a zen garden creates a miniature styled landscape through carefully
composed arrangements of rocks
water features moss prune trees and bushes and uses
gravel or sand that is rigged to represent ripples in water a zen garden is usually
relatively small
surrounded by a wall and is usually meant to be seen while seated from a single
viewpoint outside the garden such
as the porch of ahojo the residence of the chief monk of a temple or monastery
classical zen gardens were created at temples of zen buddhism in kyoto during the
muramachi period
they were intended to imitate the intimate essence of nature not its actual appearance
and to serve
as an aid to meditation about the true meaning of existence
during most of the 16th century japan suffered wars and political turmoil and
it was divided among feudal lords who controlled the different provinces then in the last
three decades of that
century most of the country was reunified and order was restored that was the azuchi
momoyama period
the tsuchimo moyama period started around 1573 and lasted until approximately 1600.
odanomonaga and his successor toyotomi hideyoshi fought to politically unify japan
under
a single regime bringing the feudal order to an end this era received its name from the
two
main fortresses and centers of power at the time the azuchi castle selected by
nobunaga
as the seat of government and the momoyama castle a symbol of hideyoshi's power
architecture during this era was heavily influenced by wars decades of conflict started
in the second half of the 15th
century thus promoting military architecture during that time most of the feudal
lords erected their own castles as defensive structures and symbols of power the
tsuchimo moyama period was a
continuation of that military architecture therefore constructions from this period were
focused on castles
and to a lesser extent residential settings the creation of religious temples was nearly
abandoned
by the time nobunaga assumed control over japan each domain was allowed to have
one castle
each region had their own designers and engineers for their castles but most structures
consisted of a central tower
inner gardens and several fortified structures the central tower was usually the tallest
part of the castle and served as
an outpost and a defensive structure the regent of the castle and his generals often
used it for meetings and planning
military tactics the internal gardens are a symbol of power and wealth so these areas
were
often very elaborate these ceremonies formal reunions and other rituals usually took
place there
generals and advisors and other important officials often lived inside the castle so
specific strategic rooms
and structures were heavily fortified to keep them safe in the event of a siege castles
were usually enclosed by thick
and tall stone walls deep water ditches surround the outer walls were common
making attacks to the castle more difficult
while castles vary in their layout it was standard to have a main compound or hon maru
this is surrounded by the
second and third compounds called ninomaru and sanomaru respectively
the central keep was located in the honmaru and the castle's lord built gates and towers
at strategic points
with a steep stone wall around the perimeter a moat added a further layer of protection
merchants gathered around the area to form a castle town but there were no walls
around the whole settlement as
often seen in europe some daimyos or feudal lord built gardens near their castles
gold and other precious metals were used for decoration and as a symbol of power so
the wealthier the region the more
ostentatious the decoration of the castle is sliding fusuma panels were commonly used
for dividing interior areas they consisted of a rectangular wooden frame that slid over
wooden rails the
frame was often black lacquered and had rice paper or cloth panels inside of it
wealthy families had the fusuma panels painted
samurai castles have an incredibly fascinating yet surprisingly misunderstood evolution
so today what we are going to do is dive back into time to see the rise
fall and well rise again of japan's castles
we are going to first start things off in the 7th century although fortifications in japan
started
appearing many centuries prior it is at this point we not only begin to see
shifting events in the japanese military that would later lead to the rise of the bushi
eventually coming to be known as
the samurai but also where we can start tracing the origins of proper japanese
strongholds for a long time forts in japan were essentially walled mansion-like
structures these were often homes to landlords and for the most part were situated
near the fields at a time of
war these would also be surrounded by wooden palisades dirt walls and in a lot of
cases moats there is even evidence to
suggest that bundles of rice were used at one point as methods of protection from
enemy arrows
evidence of more significant early defensive structures known as kogoishi can actually
be found in kyushu where it
appears fortifications were somewhat ahead of their time when compared to the rest of
japan kokuishi are seen to be
inspired often by korean forts that were typical for the time employing much more earth
and stonework to improve their
strength and resilience however a greater example of the first stone fortifications in
japan appear
more on the northwestern coast of kyushu because of growing tension and turmoil
between japan and korea following the fall of the japanese ally pekja in the late 600s
there became an increasing
fear that mainland forces may eventually try to invade the japanese islands this
prompted japan to construct a series of defenses along the coast of kyushu to prevent
such an occurrence these
fortifications were largely built of stone and would come to be manned by the newly
commissioned army of japanese
conscripts japan's early attempt at a nationwide military prior to the samurai
luckily an attack never came at least not yet the mongol invasions of course happened
way later thus the defensive
line was never really needed it still remains however as evidence of an early shift
towards using stonework in
defensive structures even though for many more years the majority of japan would
continue using wood to build their
forts in fact the reason for this is because wooden fords could be so easily erected and
dismantled
forts were of course used mainly during times of war for defensive protection
often when they were no longer needed they would actually be torn down this
philosophy began to change however as we
move into the aeon period and the age of the samurai came into being throughout the
heian period we start to
see more internal conflicts as various rebellions erupted across the country from time
to time this inevitably caused
fords to become more permanent defensive installations following the ginpe war which
caused the
samurai to take control of the country and initially rule it through what would be
remembered as the kamakura shogunate
samurai military land governors were assigned territory across the country although
many of these samurai land
governors did not possess traditional forts but rather lived in the same old walled
manners these early samurai
mansions are often referred to as yakata and even though the yakata would come to
dominate the next several hundred years we can also start to see the early rise of
another form of fortification the
yamagiro mountain castles these structures were of course built atop mountains a
naturally defensive
terrain upon which a central keep called the tinshu sat surrounded by wooden
stockades that linked together towers and gates yet it is important to note that these
new castles were not meant to be a residence for the lord as in most cases they were
simply used for defensive
means as the lords themselves often lived in a yakata at the foot of the mountain
while the yamajiro slowly came into existence during the kamakura and later
muramachi period it would still be some
time before its design really took off in the meantime japan would be threatened by the
mongol invasions of
1274 and 1281 and it is here once again that we see japanese forces utilize
stonework for defensive measures as a stone wall would be constructed around hakata
bay near the city of de zaifu the
administrative center of kyushu but as we all know the best defense against the
mongols was actually just
the weather roughly half a century later and we move into an odd period marked by
conflicts
initially between the emperor and the shogunate but eventually a longer lasting clash
that arose between two
rival competing imperial courts this time is remembered as the nanbakucho period
where various samurai clans began
throwing their support behind the northern or southern court lasting a little over 50
years this
turbulent age would come to see a greater rise in the yamagiro as internal warfare
became more relevant yet the
true rise of the samurai castle was still yet to come by 1467 we finally see the outbreak
of
the extremely important oning war ravaging kyoto and causing the eventual
beginning of the single kuchi dai japan's warring states period as the authority of the
ashikaga
shogunate crumbled to pieces many of the former samurai land governors became
more and more autonomous which in turn
caused a rise in ambition as many of these lords transitioned into the independent
damio who fought to expand
their own territory and regional influence it is here we finally see the construction of the
yamajiro boom as
hundreds of lords across the country sought to increase measures to defend their land
and command their authority
all across the country yamashiros began popping up as it is estimated that around 5
000 of them would be built
throughout the period in addition because of this turbulent and chaotic age of war the
yamagiro became more
sophisticated now often incorporating more stone bulwarks extensive lengths of
wooden palisades additional towers and
both dry or wet moats this one to create a fortification that was not only
defensively advantageous but also confusing for attackers to attempt to make their way
through what could
potentially be a winding array of earthen walls wooden palisades gates and
towers to further bolster a defensive position daimyo also began to incorporate
satellite castles known as shijo extra forts that were erected on surrounding
hills creating a strong defensive network linking together with each other and the lord's
main yamajiro
for roughly two-thirds of the sengoku-jidai the yamajiro was the main form of samurai
castle yet that was set
to change following the rise of oda nobunaga the first of japan's three great unifiers
seeking to create a castle that not only functioned for defensive purposes but was also
meant to be an administrative
power base and beacon of culture that worked to impress and intimidate nobunaga
constructed azuchi japan's
first modern castle situated in a central position between east and west and also
strategically
near the capital kyoto azuchi was a work of ingenuity being built atop a hill
rather than a mountain it incorporated not wood but strong stone walls its
colorful and flamboyant tinchu was seven stories tall four stories taller than
what was the norm at the time and was surrounded by various smaller towers
interestingly enough it is even said that nobunaga decided that his personal quarters
would be inside the tenshu and
not in an adjacent manor house purposely situated near where three highways merged
coming from the east and
allowing a growing settlement to prosper surrounding it azuchi became a logistical and
administrative masterwork
although the lifespan of azuchi would be cut short being burnt down by the trader akichi
mitsuhide just three years after
its completion azuchi's legacy would live on as it marked a turning point in samurai
castle construction
from that point on most newly constructed castles began to emulate the impressive
administrative and defensive
design azuchi displayed using greater amounts of stonework and larger overall
structures combined with easy access to nearby roads and flourishing castle towns this
really was the birth of the
iconic samurai castle we all know which sort of factors into an interesting
misconception that samurai castles always looked like this when in reality
its design was born late during the warning states period and as these newer castle
styles began
to increase we can also begin to see new forms of samurai castles arising across
the country soon alongside the yamagiro we also begin seeing hirayamashiro hill
castles
hirajiro flatland castles and ukishiro mizujiro's floating or water castles
known for their impressive moats each type of castle possessed a unique challenge for
an attacking force yet
what began to make things more complicated was innovations in wall arrangement
primarily there were four types of castle layouts that arose throughout the period these
are known as nawabari
and with castles such as azuchi which became more elaborate we can also begin to see
more structures incorporated into
them things such as towers enclosures baileys storehouses and living quarters
for the lords retainers and the rest of the garrison so with that said let's now take a look
at the four styles of castle layouts the first we have is called doshinin
it is almost a pyramid of layers stacked atop one another with the tenshu in the center
at the top
an example of a doshinin is osaka castle next is hashi gokaku a style that relies
heavily on the elevation of a hill or mountain to create an almost terrace or step effect
that leads up to the top
layer containing the tinshu an example of a hashigokaku is or at least was
inuyama castle after that we have the renkaku style marked by additional layers of
varying
heights jutting out from both sides with the tenshu in the center once again an example
of a renkaku is nagoya castle
the last layout style is simply known as complex similar to the renkaku style the
complex incorporates various layers jutting out from the center however with an
increased variety and sheer amount of
random layers this style was very hard to attack an example of a complex castle is
himeji
additionally with the wall construction growing and becoming more and more elaborate
due to increased stone usage
castles became far better defensive killing machines not only were towers utilized to
provide
increased defensive measures but there was also the addition of various shooting holes
known as sama which lined
the entirety of the walls each sama was a different shape designed for a different
purpose rectangles were used
for archers while triangular and circular holes were used for firearms
on top of that unique ornamentation also made an appearance adorning different parts
of the castle these decorative
fittings often displayed the symbol of the clan or were made in the image of a spiritual
creature to provide some form
of protection to the castle as natural disasters happened often it was not uncommon
for a castle to burn
down due to lightning strikes or negligence even more so to combat japan's frequent
earthquakes the stonework of the walls was always installed without mortar this was
done so that the stone could easily
sway better during earthquakes allowing the structure atop to move as well so with
castles becoming so much larger
defensible and sophisticated we should probably ask the question how did an attacking
force try to take a castle
well just like any castle built anywhere around the world the primary objective when
storming a castle is to get over
the walls if the outer walls were sloped enough and soldiers could make their way up by
climbing or using ladders that was
definitely one method although this also caused a higher casualty rate due to defenders
having greater means of
shooting down at the attackers there was also the occasional japanese siege tower
however while in the west siege towers
were used to get atop walls in japan largely due to the sloped nature of castle walls they
were not always able
to be used in this fashion thus instead they were more often used simply to provide
elevation for archers and
gunners to shoot down inside the castle battering rams were also used quite frequently
but using a battering ram
also put those operating it at a greater risk of attacks from trapdoors where defenders
would fling down stones
boiling water or even hot sand but if the terrain was suitable which it often wasn't and
there were skilled artisans
on hand samurai armies also employed the use of catapults to throw boulders or
explosives at the enemy eventually as we
move into the later years of the sengokujidai we start to see more modern weaponry
used against castles things
such as land mines and later cannons were seen as highly effective not only
at breaking the enemy defenses but also enemy morale but even with that all said it
goes
without saying that storming a castle was a deadly affair and often seen as a
last resort this caused more innovative ideas of taking castles to flourish throughout
the period
one documented effective method of seizing castles was through the usage of shinobi
agents of espionage who were
able to conduct night raids into enemy castles and cause garrisons to fall through
surprise and confusion
a prime example of shinobi being used to take a castle was in 1562 during the
siege of kaminogo however there is no better example of conducting sieges than by
viewing the
many methods used by toyotomi hideyoshi the second of japan's three great unifiers
from using diplomacy to sway
castle lords over to his side brutality to starve out defending garrisons and
even diverting rivers to flood entire surrounding areas cutting castles off completely
hideyoshi became a master at
taking castles with very little casualties after hideyoshi took over he would
construct an array of powerful citadels that served to exert his authority these were at
osaka fushimi and jurakudai in
kyoto interestingly enough it is important to note the introduction of the black
tenshu first seen at osaka further castles hideyoshi would commission across the
country would also have a
black tinchu to display their loyalty to him this is actually opposed to castles
built by tokugawa ieyasu the third of japan's three great unifiers whose own castles and
castles of lords loyal to
him colored their tinchu white another interesting thing hideyoshi did as he came into
power was decree that
only lords who had pledged their loyalty to him would be allowed to keep their castles
this not only caused many
families to take his side lest they lose their land but also caused the dismantling of
many other castles
later during hideyoshi's failed invasion of korea known as the imjin war the japanese
would construct various castles
across the korean peninsula although today nothing really remains of these castles
besides foundations and ruins we
know for a fact that most fortifications were constructed simply to secure supply lines
while actual larger governing
fortresses were said to have been built near the coast more large changes to castles in
japan
were to come after the battle of sekigahara in the year 1600 when yayasu took control
and finally unified the
land eventually creating the tokugawa shogunate initially ieyasu established a number
of
major strongholds across the entire country as a method to maintain authority similar
to what hideyoshi had
done although this time ieyasu used the construction of these new castles as an
excuse to tax and further weaken clans that had previously been disloyal to him
some of these new impressive castles he constructed were hikone nagoya
nijo and himeji which previously had actually been known as himayama
following the end of the siege of osaka in 1615 the conflict that brought the sengoku
period to a close we can see
that castle building virtually stopped just as the wars did in addition the shogunate
issued a new law known as
ikoku ichiju ray one castle per province this act forced damio all across japan
to demolish all of their castles except for their primary residence by the end of this
process it is
estimated that roughly 400 castles were torn down leaving only 170 still
standing being that the edo period was a time of peace all further castle related
projects such as expansions or repairs had to be approved by the shogunate this
actually allowed for the interesting
occurrence of tin shoes burning down due to lightning or accidents and not getting
approval from the shogunate to
rebuild them thus the number of remaining castles continued to dwindle what further
caused the number to
decline was after the fall of the tokugawa shogunate in 1868 followed by the meiji
restoration which brought the
emperor back into power and the dismantling of the samurai with castles being
somewhat viewed now
as an unsightly reminder of japan's feudal past an order would be eventually given for
more of them to be torn down
in time only leaving 19 tenchu still standing yet what is cool to note is
that due to the fact that the stone foundations to many of these castles were so hard to
remove many of them
still remain today thus even though the castle no longer exists all across the country
you can still see where many of
these castles once stood later during the second world war seven
more castles would unfortunately be destroyed by allied bombing
however following the war as a new rise in the interest and popularity of feudal
japan began to spread many of the tin shoes destroyed would be rebuilt and others
would even come to be recognized
as unesco world heritage sites thus samurai castles started to make a huge
comeback long after they were actually used throughout the remainder of the 20th
century the castles of the samurai
became a staple image of japan important structures that linked the modern country
back to its unique and
fascinating feudal past
the showings of curry houses the shines of korea was an architectonic style that
developed for residential
constructions it was innovative and introduced the use of square columns replacing the
lumber pillars used before
another innovation was covering the floors completely in tatami the traditional rice
straw mats
both elements became characteristic of a traditional japanese architecture
shoinsukuri is a style of japanese residential architecture used in the mansions of the
military temple guest
halls and the zen abbots quarters of the azuchi momoyama and edo periods
the style takes its name from the shoin a term that originally meant a study and
a place for lectures in the sutra within the temple but which later came to mean
just a drawing room or study the showing style had its origins within
the earlier moromachi period and continued to be refined during the momoyama period
verandas linked the interiors of residential buildings with highly cultivated exterior
gardens
fusuma are the vertical rectangular panels that can slide from side to side and the bobo
or the folding screens
became highly decorated with paintings and often an interior room with shelving
and an alcove called the tokonoma was used to display artwork typically a
hanging scroll
the japanese tea ceremony developed as a transformative practice centered around the
aesthetic of wabi-sabi
a concept derived from zen buddhism that emphasizes simplicity humility
impermanence and intense appreciation of the immediate experience as a concept
wabi came to be associated
with tea drinking and tea rituals japan's cultural relationship with t went back as far as
8th century when its
imperial court dispatched missions to the chinese mainland to search out various
cultural artifacts and practices
during the 12th century tea drinking spread among zen buddhist monks as an everyday
beverage that helped to fight
drowsiness during meditation but it was still an exclusive and expensive undertaking
taken oju is believed to have joined the term the wabi-cha referring to the wabi-ti
ceremony
thereby finding a parallel between the tea ceremony as practiced in inexpensive settings
and the philosophy of renga of which he was a master ranga is a type of poetry in which
a
number of poets gathered to compose lines in succession as highly popular in medieval
japan among those who enjoyed
the creative challenges and imaginative possibilities that it offered
the upper classes in the growing merchant class demanded battery goods for daily use
and also the use for tea
ceremonies that were becoming increasingly popular there were two main types of
pottery
during this period the shino and the raku
the endo period edo period otherwise known as the tokogawa period
is between 1603 and 1868 in the history of japan when japan was under the role
of the tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300th regional demio this
period was characterized by economic growth strict social order isolationist
foreign policies a stable population no more wars and a popular enjoyment for
arts and culture the shogunate was established in edo on march 24 1603 by tokogawa
yasso
the period came to an end with the meiji restoration on may 3 1868 after the fall
of edo
the architectural developments of this period reflected the major tendencies found in
other aspects of the visual
arts there were quite the differing perspectives provided by the aristocratic revival and
the bombastic
display favored by the newly powerful many of the architectural features and
abundance of polychrome decorative carving and exaggerated curving lines and is
perhaps the quintessence of the
flooredly decorated ostentatious form much residential architecture also began
to feature elaborate decorative carvings in the interior and exterior panels as well as the
joints
one of the best examples of this spirit is the katsura imperial vigola built
between 1620 and 1624 on the southwestern edge of kyoto and is the
most outstanding example of a cohesive attempt to integrate a mannered interpretation
of the hayen styles with
architectural innovations spurred by the development of tea ceremony
[Music] perhaps a more moderate and quite
beautiful example suggesting more subdued tastes within the shogunal and daimyo
ranks is the ken roko garden
and its surrounding structures located at kanazawa capital of the meda family
domain northeast of kyoto in general the edo garden which
underwent various refinements throughout the period is bold and beautiful but more
obviously crafted than the tea
gardens of the moromachi period nature's flaws have been disguised in the hand of the
landscaper shows clearly
the meiji period the meiji period covers the taisho and the showa periods
emperor meiji had a fascination with western culture and since he ascended to power a
process of westernization took
over japan overseas designers and western ideas defined the architecture of this period
japan was a modern industrialized country with plenty of western influences but still
deeply connected to
its traditions the process of modernization and interaction of the western powers
started during the meiji
period while the british empire was under queen victoria's rule before japan was still a
very traditional nation the meiji period was a time of innovation and a change in japan
it started in 1868 and ended in 1912 and received its name from emperor meiji
the previous isolation enforced the japanese rulers suddenly changed with an opening
to european influences
that greatly changed japan and helped it evolve into a more cosmopolitan society
a general interest in foreign artwork architecture and culture developed
the meiji architecture was characterized by using brick and stone as construction
materials instead of the traditional
wood the intention was not only to copy western structures but also to prevent fires
influenced by the industrial revolution materials like concrete steel and glass were also
used for the first time
although they were rare designs had gardens with fountains that served as decorative
elements and also
showed some opulence influenced by the neoclassic ideas of foreign architecture
particles and arches were widely used these constructive elements were introduced by
thomas waters an irish
architect who implemented them on several projects while he was working in japan
many government buildings like the japan mint in osaka and the rokumekan hall were
designed following western styles
leaving behind the traditional japanese structures and standards in tokyo the ginza
district was built as
a symbol of modern architecture however western-like buildings were very expensive
and became nearly abandoned
because most of the japanese people couldn't afford to live there
the roku mikhan hall or the banqueting house was a large two-story building in tokyo
completed in 1883 which became a
controversial symbol of westernization in the meiji period commissioned for the
housing of foreign
guests by the foreign minister inui ka'oro it was designed by british architect
josiah conder a prominent western advisor working in japan
although the roku-makan's heyday was brief it became famous for its parties and balls
which introduced many
high-ranking japanese to western manners for the first time it is still a fixture in the
cultural
memory of japan it was however largely used for the accommodation of guests for the
government and for meetings between japanese who had already lived abroad
and its image as a center of dissipation is largely fictional
the geofoam movement kiufu architecture was a style of japanese architecture which
outwardly
resembled western style construction but relied on traditional japanese techniques
it flourished during the early meiji period and disappeared as knowledge of western
techniques became more
widespread giulifou style buildings were built by japanese carpenters using traditional
construction techniques but with a layout and external ornamentation based on
observation of
western-style buildings in person or in photographs or based on design books which
offered
molding designs which could be reproduced many of these buildings were symmetric
and made use of particles or verandas with columns classical pediments sash
windows and ornamental gables gyofu style buildings often contain
dutch british french and or italian architectural elements
combined with a japanese style roof the japanese roofs on western-faced japanese
timber frames became a signifier of the geofoa architecture
the clearest evidence for this is the karahafu and mokori roofs sometimes attached to
these western influenced
architectures
porcelain wasn't just decorative but had a political meaning during the meiji period
it presented the first major exhibition of japanese crafts in the paris world fair in 1867
and was seen as a major opportunity to establish trade businesses with the west
in the early 1920s modernists and expressionists emerged and formed their own
groups
kunio maikawa joined le corbusier's studio in france
and came back to japan in early 1930s and designed several buildings
the influence of modernism is evident in many company and government buildings
1933 bruno thought a prominent german architect and urban planner fled to
japan and his positive opinion of japanese architecture encouraged japanese
modernists
[Music]
[Music] japanese architecture created from the
last quarter of the 19th century is remarkable in its rapid assimilation of western
architectural forms and the
structural technology necessary to achieve the results quite foreign to traditional
japanese sensibilities
large-scale official and public buildings were no longer constructed of wood but of
reinforced brick sometimes
faced with stone in european styles steel reinforced concrete was introduced in the
taisho period allowing for larger
interior spaces as part of the meiji government's general thrust to quickly import
western
specialists to function as practitioners and instructors the two main influences notable
in the
field of architecture are english and german the english architect and designer
josiah conder arrived in japan in 1877. his eclectic taste included adaptations
of a number of european styles and the work of his japanese students was significant
through the second decade of
the 20th century the bank of japan and tokyo station designed by tatsuno kingo
and the hyoke khan now an archeological museum within the complex of buildings at
the tokyo national museum
in the akasaka detached palace both by katayama tokuma are both the few of the best
known
examples of japanese attempts at stately monumentality in a western mode
expressionism and bauhaus influence that created the international style of
modernism expressionism is a modernist movement initially in poetry and painting
originating in germany at the beginning of the 20th century its typical trait is to present
the
world solely from a subjective perspective distorting it radically for emotional effect in
order to evoke moods
or ideas the most important influence on bauhaus was modernism a cultural movement
whose
origins lay as early as the 1880s and which had already made its presence felt
in germany before the world war despite the prevailing conservatism
the design innovations commonly associated with group use in the bauhaus the
radically simplified forms the
rationality and functionality and the idea that mass production was reconcilable with
individual artistic
spirit were already partly developed in germany before the bauhaus was founded
the german architects hermann ander and wilhelm bachmann were active in japan from
the late 1880s
their expertise in the construction of government ministry buildings was applied to the
growing complex of such
structures in tokyo the now much altered ministry of justice building is a major
monument to their
work the germans also trained a group of proteges including tsumaki orinaka
his design of the nippon kangyo bank and okada shinichiro's kabuki theater in
tokyo are representative of attempts to combine the grand scale of western buildings
with such traditional elements
of japanese architecture a styled hip gable troops curved chinese gables and
curved overhanging eaves
the striving for monumentality reached its most awkward form in the highly nationalistic
period of the 1930s
the tokyo national museum by watanabe hitoshi in the diet building in tokyo
designed by watanabe fukuzo are examples of massive blocky scale without grandeur
frank lloyd wright's imperial hotel in tokyo built in 1915 to 1922 but
dismantled in 1967 seemed to have had little lasting influence although wright's
creations in
the west revealed its indebtedness to his perceptions of the japanese aesthetic
similarly the bauhaus movement steered interest in japan but walter gropius was even
more thoroughly impressed and
influenced by such japanese classics as the katsura imperial villa in kyoto
in the tokyo woman's christian college commenced in 1924 antonin raymond's
architecture can be
seen to still have heavy influence by frank lloyd wright its low hipped roof and
overhanging
eaves are reminiscent of wright's prairie houses this work also demonstrates his
interest
in shaq cubism and the works of august parade
after their house was destroyed in the great kanto earthquake antonin raymond
designed a new one
the reynanzaka house in tokyo his desire to free himself from frank
lloyd wright's influence led him to explore spatial relationships between living working
and dining areas and how
spaces could be closed off with folding screens the house is built almost entirely of
in-situ concrete ramos workforce were enthusiastic in their use of this new material
likening it to the walls of traditional kora storehouses the house itself had a metal
fenestration tubular steel trellises and traditional rain chains rather than rain
water downpipes the interior tool was well in advance of other houses of the
international style with the use of cantilevered tubular steel furniture
japanese colonial architecture
after japan occupied taiwan the realm of the built environment was turned on its head
many cities and towns were altered buildings were turned modern baroque architecture
and relief
sculptures are typical japanese architecture styles after japan had to leave taiwan after
world war ii old buildings were used for new purposes an example of which is the old
city
government building which was turned into the national museum of taiwan literature
since taiwan was japan's first colony the japanese immediately got to work putting
great effort into turning taiwan
into the perfect model of how a colony should look this is why there are a lot of
architecture in taiwan that has japanese
influences although today taiwan is a province of china
during the japanese occupation in the colonial korea era from 1910 to 1945
there was an attempt by the colonial government of the empire of japan to replace
korean architecture with
japanese architectural traditions significant structures of korean imperial palace
compounds and their
traditional korean gardens were demolished important landscape elements were
removed and sold or taken for use in
japan ancient bunje trees were taken for replant as bonsai in japanese gardens
also during japanese occupation the construction of traditional korean religious
buildings either buddhist or
confucian was discouraged as well as the adaptations on christian churches
some korean people resisted the japanese nationalist agenda by building traditional
korean hanok homes such as
the houses of jonju village the colonial disregard for korean architecture and its history
left
important korean landmarks neglected and unmaintained and the deterioration or
demolition of significant examples of architecture resulted some historic buildings were
also
redecorated using japanese ornamentation methods
japanese architecture was introduced to colonial korea via transportation infrastructure
building programs new
railway lines had japanese type railway stations and hotels the japanese also built new
city halls
post offices barracks and military bases jails and prisons and police stations
and police boxes known as the koban having prohibited the use of the korean
language in the media and education japan built new schools for the japanese
education of koreans
western euro-american revival architectural styles were used for some new buildings
important to the japanese
occupation in korea
an example is the neoclassical style japanese general government building built in 1926
the seoul station built in
1925 and the seoul city hall built in 1926. materials for building construction in
korea were in short supply the korean old growth forest and particularly large
cypress logs were under japanese logging operations and shipped to japan along
with other exportable building materials the japanese occupation blocked 20th
century western design movements including art deco and modernist architecture from
reaching colonial
korea korean architecture with 20th century influences did not develop until
after korean independence in 1946