INTRODUCTIONTO JAPANESE

ARCHITECTURE
NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK
 GEOGRAPHY

• mostly ruggedand mountainous

• Eas ternAsia, islandchainbetween the
NorthPacific Oceanand the Sea of Japan,
eas t of the KoreanPeninsula

CLIMATE

• varies from tropical insouth to cool

temperate in north

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 NEOLITHICJ APANES E-HOUS ES

• The J omonperiod, whichencompasses a great expanse of time, constitutes Japan's Neolithic

period. Its name is derived from the "cord markings" that characterize the ceramicsmade
during this time.
• Jomonpeople were semi-sedentary,livingmostly in pit dwellings arrangedaroundcentral
open spaces, andobtained their food by gathering, fishing, andhunting.
• While the many excavations of Jomonsites have added to our knowledge of specific arte facts,
they have not helped to resolve certainfundamental ques tions concerning the people of the
protoliterate era, such as their ethnic classificationand the originof their language.

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NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK
 NEOLITHICJ APANES E-B URIALS

• The Kofunperiod is an era in the

history of Japan fromaround250 to
538 AD.
• It follows the Yayoi period. The Yayoi
periodis an IronAge era in the history
of Japan traditionallydated 300
BC–300 AD
• The word kofunis Japanese for the
type of burial mounds dating from
this era.
• The Kofunand the subsequent
Asuka periodsare sometimes re fe rred
to collectivelyas the Yamato period
• Kofunare megalithic tombs or tumuli
inJ apan, constructedbetween the
early3rd century and the early 7th
century AD

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 • The Asukaperiod was a periodin the history of
Japanlasting from538 to 710), althoughits
beginningcouldbe said to ove rlapwith the
precedingKofunperiod
• The AS UKAPERIODis when the architectural
style change in Japan began. The earlies tshrines
developedduring the Asuka Periodwas
recognisedas SHINTO ARCHITECTURE.
• The shrines were usually to express prayer to
harvest god. Agriculturebecame of prime
importance during this periodand irrigational
techniques were evolved too.
• The earlies tshrines sacredshrine was a simple
fence (TAMAGAKI) surrounding an area witha
prominent entrance (TORII).During the festivals
andcelebrations,the natural elements were
givenan architectural form, like a wooden
columnor a post and placedin the centre.

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 IS E S HRINE
• Remarkablenumber of architectural features
were developedduring the Ise shrine period.
• Many new arch types and store houses and
elevated floors were developedduring this
style of architecture.
• All the shrine buildings had columns
embeddedin earth to make the structure
more firm.
• Shrines were rebuilt every 20 years. A pair of
adjacent sites of the same size were identified
where the shrines would be replicated.
• TORIIor the entrance to the shrines became
more elaborate and two pillars for support
were firmlyembedded inearth.
• SHIMMEITORI the simplestof the entrance
forms is present in the IS E shrine.
• MYOJINTORII whichis mostly present in the
Kamo shrines has double lintels and resembles
the eaves of a Hindutemple.

NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK

 The followingis a diagramillustrat ing
themos t
importante lement sof a SHINTOSHRINE
1. TORII– Shint ogat e
2. St onest airs
3. SANDO– theapproachto theshrine
4. CHOZUVA– fountainto cleanseone' s
handsandfac e
5. TORO– de corat ivest onelanterns
6. KAGURA-de n– buildingde dic atedto NOH
or thesacredKAGURAdance
7. SHAMUS HO– theshrine'sadminis trat ive
offic e
8. EMA– woodenplaquesbe aringprayersor
wishes
9. SESS HA /MASS HA – smallaux iliaryshrines
10. KO MAINU– theso-c alled"liondogs" ,
guardiansof theshrine
11. HAIDEN– oratory
12. TA MAGAKI– fenc esurrounding
thehonden
13. HONDEN– mainhall,enshriningthe KAMI.
Ontheroofof thehaidenandhondenare
vis ibleCHIGI(forkedroofFINIALS )
andKATSUOGU(shorthorizontallogs ),
bot hcommonshrineornamentat ions.

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 IS E S HRINE

• Eventuallya lot of festivals and events

that were celebratedin Japanled to
expansionof Ise shrine in terms of area.
• Inne rshrine is called the NAIKU which
houses the ancestral godand the outer
shrine is calledGEKU dedicated to local
gods.
• The inner shrine is 10.9m(36ft) deep and
5.5m(18ft) wide.
• The pillars are set deep into the ground
and the floor is elevated.
• The re is only one central doorway and
ve randas aroundthe building.
• On the thickridged thatch roof there are
tenBillets (katsougi) and the barged
board project upwards to form two finials
(Chigi).
• As this is the oldes t forms of shrines in
Japan, it is held by the oldes t clanof the
culture

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 IS E S HRINE

NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK

 IS E S HRINE

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 S UMIYOS HIS HRINE

• The mainshrine at S umiYoshi

• The re are totally 4 shrines facing
WEST, enshrining the four gods.
The re are four separate buildings
of same size and shape. Three
shrines stand in a line andone on
the right side to forman L shaped
layout. Each shrine is two bays,
4.8mwide and four bays deep
measuring 8m.The exterioris
brightlycoloredand interiors are
in wood.

NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK

 THE US A S HRINE

• The re are three mainshrines,each separated by a gutterin between andall had a double
gable roofing sys tem.The interiors is a continuous space but seems majorly dividedinto
two portions.
• The shrine is mostly in HachimanS tyle of Japanese architecture.
• Hac himanis the syncreticdiety of arche ry andwar, incorporatingelements fromboth
Shinto andBuddhism

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J APANESETEMPLEARCHITECTURE

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 HOKOJ ITE MPLEAT NARA

• When Buddhismas a culture became

popular, the monas teries became the
new temples or the shrines to offer
prayers.
• The ancient periodhad fixedlayout
for the monas teries,based on the
direction.The maingate facedsouth
andbehindat a distance was a middle
gate (Chumon) to whicha semi
enclosedroof corridorwas attached
(Kairo) surrounding the most sacred
area, whichwas a Pagoda. Led to an
image hall (Kando).
• Eventuallytwo pagodas occupiedthe
sacredenclosure.A lecture hall (Kodo)
was attached to the rear of the
corridor.
• The re was also a pries t and the staff
quarters at the rear.

NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK

 HORYUJ ITE MPLEAT NARA

• The oldes t wooden temple of the later Nara period, the older structure was however
des troyedandwas re-built.The kondois 18.5 x 16.2 m. there is a 5 storyed pagoda, on a
square base of 10.85m

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NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK
NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK
 TOS HODAIJ ITE MPLEof the LATERNARAPERIOD

• Simplifiedstructure in terms of a temple,single storied. 27.9 x 14.6m,has an open colonnade

porch spanning the entire length. The wooden brackets sys temare more advanced than the
ones earlier

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 THE PHOENIXHALLAT UJ I
• O riginallya villawhichis now converted to a temple.The structure faces a pondand
eventuallywas developed to become a part of Heiangarden. The central hall that is highly
decoratedis 14.2 x 11.8m there is a complexstructural methodused in the roofing sys tem

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 WAYOS TYLEof TE MPLEARCHITECTUR E
• Japanese style of architectureduring the medievalperiod.
• This was anothe r formof traditional temple architecturestyle that developed from the
traditional values.
• The temples were mostly placedon a ve ry scenic spot like a hill top andwithnatural
surroundings.
• Hondobecomes the focal point of the design.
• The depthandwidth of whichis always 5,7or9 bays in terms of dimension.

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 ZENS TYLE

• Buildings in this style had earthen flooring and slenderpillars with rounded top and bottom, set
on stone or a wooden plinth. The wooden bracket sys temwas ve ry complexandclustered.

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J APANESEURBANARCHITECTURE

NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK

 • The Chinese methodof planning was
arranging buildings symmetrically
along the Northand Southaxis.

HEIANCITY
• Ancient city of Japan 5.3kmfrom
north south and4.5 kmeas t-west.
• ImperialPalace at the middle of the
northernside.
• City was divided to left and right
segment.
• Grid-ironpatte rn streets
• Two major temples and two markets
were arrangedsymmetrically.

NOTES BY AKSHATHA NAIK