Boustani

Sam Boustani

Professor Schwabach

Art History II, Section V1

19 March 2004

Understanding the Japanese House

While Western architects design a home with the inhabitant’s primary needs in

mind, the Japanese house’s space is determined by cultic needs. Three needs defined in

western concepts include physical parameters, the measurements of the human body;

physiological conditions, like the need for protection, sufficient light and air, hygiene;

and an assumed behavior that requires enough space for moving, working, eating, leisure,

etc. The western standardized space has its walls and openings, surfaces for movement,

fittings and functional places designed depending on these needs. (Egenter)

Research shows that the Japanese live in smaller spaces, at times less than half of

those of western families. The Japanese home was developed under different cultural and

geographical conditions from those of the western world. Western architecture studies

are focused more on the Euro-Mediterranean history of art. In addition, there are no

specific educational programs to study the differences at today’s architectural schools.

Unlike western construction, with its stone and solid construction, housing in

Japan is still constructed on piles, according to its prehistoric sources. Buddhist temples

were different, and influenced new architecture with their various sects, but they were

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still essentially post-and-beam structures. It was not until western architecture was

imported that the large multi-family blocks adopted stone and solid construction.

However, the more recent Japanese two-story single family house still remains an

example of wooden post-and-beam type structure. They are often prefabricated and look

like western brick houses covered with roughcast (a coarse plaster covered with pebbles).

Upon closer inspection, the roughcast walls reveal traditional internal wooden

construction. The gaps between the supporting pillars are filled with clay mixed with

straw, and the construction remains true to tradition. (Egenter)

Special floor plans are created to retain the traditional style of living, since only

the kitchen and sometimes the dining area is modern. Other rooms for working, sleeping,

and socializing remain traditional and have floors covered with thick straw mats, called

tatami. The family kneels at low tables to eat and drink, and they sleep on the floor. The

architect in this case has little to do with the housing, but instead the responsibility falls

onto the craftsman who designs the house to ancient traditional rules.

The roofs of Japanese houses symbolize the Asian philosophy of life. The floors

of the high sleeping part are covered with tatami, while the working space and kitchen in

the lower part is often of stamped earth. This implies different categories, such as heaven

and earth. This division is an important feature throughout the development. The earthen

part is often left open towards the internal roof space, which offers a view of the beams of

the roof-structure. The closed and sacred part is elevated on piles. The order of the seats

is determined by the polar relation of the holy board (kamidan), the Buddhist ancestral

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altar (butsudan) and the cult niche (tokonoma) on one side, and the access room of the

house on the other side. These spaces guide the behavior of the dwellers in the sense of

good upbringing, and it forms part of the individual’s education.

The Japanese do not see the interior and exterior of a house as two different

environments, but as continuous elements. The space is designed with seating in mind,

not standing. Doors, windows and alcoves are placed so that artwork and gardens are

visible from a sitting position.

For Japan, which is frequently hit by earthquakes, development of earthquake-

resistant construction has always been a major problem in architecture. The first

skyscraper of Japan, the Kasumigaseki Building, was completed in 1968, having made

use of the latest earthquake-resistant technology.

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 (a custom that began to change in the Meiji

period (1868-1912). (J.I.N.)

Many American houses built during the last quarter of the nineteenth century

made use of Japanese motifs. At first glance, a Japanese house may be disappointing to

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an American. It lacks many features that would normally be found in a home in the

United States. These features include swinging doors, windows, an attic or cellar, a

chimney with fireplace and mantle, and permanently enclosed rooms. There are also no

beds, tables, chairs, or similar articles.

The fact that there are no permanent walls on two or more sides is the biggest

difference. Instead, sliding screens allows you to open the house or close off sections

into individual rooms. Outside screens are frames stretched over with translucent paper

that admit light. Exterior walls and most wooden beams are often left natural, whether

wood, plaster or tile. Roofs are low-pitched, covered with shingles, tiles or thatch. The

roofs often have a deep overhang where a verandah would be. At night, the rooms may

be enclosed with solid wood panels. Entrances are not easily noticeable, since the

interiors are accessible from many points. The interior floor is raised a foot and a half

above the ground, and laid with tatami mats, which determine the square or rectangular

shape of rooms. (Lancaster)

The guest room has a deep recess in a wall, and these are divided into two bays.

The bay nearest to the verandah has a scroll painting hanging on its wall, with a flower

vase or art object on a low stand on the floor. The bay next to it has shelves and small

cabinets. Other rooms would have built-in drawers or closets furnished with sliding

screens instead of swinging doors. The kitchen is usually on the side where the street

front is. The home's land is surrounded by high fences of boards or bamboo, or solid

walls of mud or tile with stone foundations to enclose it from the street.

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While some may love the Japanese house, others are more critical of it. A

reviewer of Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings (Edward Morse, Ticknor and

Company, 1886) said that it was "well worthy of study by every architect and decorator,

because of its fresh ideas in design of detail and construction, and because of its graphic

presentation of an artistic spirit manifested in the work and manners of a whole nation."

In contrast, another reviewer stated that "Japanese homes are very flimsy affairs when

compared even with our lightest constructions of wood…they are beginning to build

houses like ours, and it probably will not be many years before the Japanese may wonder

how it was they managed to live in such great discomfort before the advent of new

ideas." Another reviewer added that "…the fundamental principles of that architecture

are…a return to honesty and simplicity in construction, rejection of all false

ornamentation and the meeting of all actual requirements in the simplest and most direct

way."

The architecture of Japan has been one of the world's great dwelling styles and

has ranged over twelve centuries. It has developed this style in wood rivaling that of the

Gothic style in stone. I myself have definitely enjoyed studying the Japanese home.

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Works cited:

Egenter, Nold. "The Japanese House" Harmonious space and the Archetype of polar space 14 Mar. 2004 <http://home.worldcom.ch/~negenter/410JapHouseTxE1.html>.

Japan Information Network. "The Development of Japanese Architecture" Design Concept 14 Mar. 2004 <http://jin.jcic.or.jp/access/arch/concept.html>.

Japan Access. "Japanese Architecture" The Development of Japanese Architecture 14 Mar. 2004 <http://www.sg.emb-japan.go.jp/JapanAccess/kenchiku.htm>.

Lancaster, Clay. The Japanese Influence in America. New York: Walton H. Rawls, 1963.

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