Architecture Architecture is shaped by circumstances of climate, geography, and customs. In Japan with its high humidity, seasonal change, and plentiful forests, wood has been the traditional building material. Traditiional Japanese architecture has good foundation ventilation, airy rooms, slanted roofs, long overhangs, and tatami-covered floors. Buddhist Architecture Buddhist temple architecture is heavily influenced by Chinese aesthetics, but some features are purely Japanese--the gentle curve of the roof, the deep eaves, and the general contrast between curved and straight lines. Typical is Houryuuji in Nara, the world's oldest wooden structure, and such 7-8th century temples as Toushoudaiji. Shintou Architecture Shintou shrines represent the oldest Japanese architectural style. They are generally placed high above the ground, made of plain, unpainted wood, topped with thickly thatched roofs, and supported by pillars driven directly into the ground. Ise, Izumo, and Sumiyoshi Shrines are typical but other shrines show signs of Buddhist influence. Residences There are very few private residences left from before the Nara period. By the Heian period a style called shinden-zukuri was popular with the nobility. Centered around the shinden (master's quarters), this style is characterized by an annex, open pavilion by a pond, and long connecting corridors. Floors were wooden, tatami not coming into common use until the end of the Muromachi period. In the Momoyama period a style called shoin-zukuri emerged incorporating many features now accepted as traditionally Japanese, including the tokonoma alcove, staggered shelves, and fusuma paper sliding doors. Katsura and Shugakuin Detached Palaces are superior examples. Castle Architecture Castles were built throughout Japan during the tumultuous civil wars. Stone and wood with white plaster walls, castles were usually three to five stories high. Himeji Castle is typical. @ |
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Gardens In contrast to the geometric arrangements of trees and rocks in Western-style gardens, the traditional Japanese garden is a scenic composition mimicking nature. Elements of the Japanese garden include flowing water, ponds, groupings of stones, trees and shrubs, and artificial hills, each in as natural-looking a state as possible to evoke the feeling of artlessness. The ultimate in Japanese garden philosophy is probably the concept of shakkei or "borrowed view"--a still-used ruse in which background elements suc as mountains are incorporated into the garden's composition. Japanese gardens can be broadly divided into those which focus on naturalism and those with religious symbolism. Natural Gardens Among the natural-style garden is the shinden-zukuri garden, a crystalization of extremely ancient Japanese garden motifs. The oldest recorded garden of this type--which includes artificial hills, ponds, and man-made streams among the foliage--dates back to the Asuka period. While no perfect examples of this type of garden exist today, the kaiyuu gardens created for the feudal lords during the Edo period are also representative of this naturalist school. These kaiyuu gardens, built both in their home fiefs and at their residences in Edo, often used exquisite stones and trees to create miniature reproductions of famous scenes. Kairakuen in Mito, Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, and Kourakuen in Okayama--often called Japan's three best gardens--are of this type. Broad expanses of green in crowded cities, these three gardens are today popular public partks. Religious Gardens Among gardens having religious significance are those in what is known as the Joudo style. Taking its name from the Joudo Buddhist sect, this garden style was developed in the late Heian and Kamakura periods and draws its symbolism from the belief in the Joudo paradise popular at the time. The focal point of this type of garden is the pond with a bridge arching to a central islan, a major motif of the Joudo mandala. Behind the pond is the Amidadou housing the figure of the Amida Buddha or the kondou. The Hououdougarden at Byoudouin,a temple in Uji south of Kyouto (Kyoto), is an early example of the Joudo style garden; and the Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) garden in Kyouto a later example combining the Joudo and the residential styles. Beginning in the Muromachi period, garden design was strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism and abstract symbolism became increasingly important. Groupings of rocks represented figures of Buddhas, and white sand replaced flowing water in the sand and rock gardens of this period. Examples of this style include the rock garden at Kyouto's Ryouanji and Daitokuji's Daisen'in garden, also in Kyouto. The extreme abstraction of these gardens echoes abstract modern art. @ |