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It is said that Japanese houses are built to allow breezes to pass through and cool residents during the stifling heat of summer. Conversely, though, this makes winter a cold, uncomfortable time even when indoors. Filling a hot water yutanpo bottle is one way to stay warm at night, while heaters or kotatsu tables are necessary during the daytime. These thatched houses were ideally adapted to their environment and climatic conditions according to their region. Both beautiful and functional, they reflect the essence of Japanese architecture whose recognizable styles are held with pride by Japanese people. Built with local materials almost exclusively of plant origin, sometimes supplemented with clay, they were made without nails.
Why KORYOYA houses?
Children that grow up in these homes find these tucked-away spaces a delight for playing hide and seek. You may find a small, low table in the middle of the room where people tuck their legs under and enjoy a meal together. In these modern times, this feature is a rarity as western-style furniture replaces tradition with cushioned comfort. The tataki and the agarikamachi are technically the two entrances in a Japanese home. In olden times, the tataki floor consisted of pounded earth, but nowadays, it consists of smooth concrete. There are tiny homes that would be a claustrophobic’s nightmare and mansions that require an army of housekeepers for upkeep.
Design of the floor plan
Squat toilets were once standard in Japanese homes, but they have been superseded by high-tech units with heated seats and other features. A genkan entrance hall with a getabako (left) for shoes and a tataki (foreground). If you are thinking of visiting a traditional Japanese House while you are in Japan, it’s important to know the etiquette to follow so you can be respectful to the owners of the home. There are lots of different Japanese customs to learn about, Guide to Japanese Customs. The shikidai is a timber platform or step that extends across the entire width of an entrance. The yokoza is the seat furthest from the kitchen area, where the head of the household would sit.
Elements of Japanese Architecture (Nihon Kenchiku)
Tokobashira are ornamental posts at either side of the tokonoma alcove. Tokobashira are generally square, but visual interest can be added through the use of round posts, semi-squared posts with bark left on the corners, and posts with chamfered edges. The kokabe is a narrow horizontal section of wall that extends partway down from the ceiling and stops at about head-height. The section of partial wall that divides the tokonoma alcove from the rest of the room is a kokabe. The timber crosspiece at the base of the kokabe in front of the tokonoma is called an otoshigake. The short sections of wall between the lintels and the ceiling are also called kokabe.
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Small changes in floor-level are common in traditional Japanese houses, and kamachi is the term for the timber boards used as facings to cover the ends of the floor structure timbers where these levels change. In a Japanese genkan (entrance hall), the piece of timber that covers the step up into the house is called the agari-kamachi (see ⑧ in the irori illustration below). Traditional Japanese architecture has evolved greatly since the earliest known remains of a settlement dating back to Japan’s Neolithic period, as seen in the Sannai-Maruyama site. The sukiya-zukuri and shoin-zukuri Japanese architectural styles show the unique heritage, customs, and way of life of the Japanese. Some very old minka had wooden columns roughly whittled with chona (a hooked wooden tool with a metal blade used to shape wood), and were not finished with a plane.
Ebooks to Jump Start your Japanese
Shōji are translucent sliding panels that cover door and window openings, offering privacy while allowing the light to pass through. They consist of a wooden lattice framework covered on one side with stretched shōji paper. Sliding panels with glass on the exterior and shōji panels that can be slid up from the bottom are called yukimi-shōji (snow-viewing shōji). The kamoi are the lintels above openings for sliding fusuma or shōji door panels. In sections of wall without any door openings, decorative horizontal timbers called tsuke-kamoi are added to continue the line of the kamoi beams right around the room. A ranma is a decorative open panel in an interior upper wall between the kamoi lintel and the ceiling, that allows light and ventilation.
Many such inhabitants comprise the Japanese elderly community living quietly and on their own. Because of its natural components, the tatami mat can also absorb carbon dioxide from the air. This makes it a natural air purifier without having to resort to chemical fresheners and sprays. As no new houses can be built with the traditional construction method under current law, the high craftsmanship is in danger of becoming a dying art. The agari-kamachi is the horizontal facing-board that covers the front edge of the step from ground level to the raised floor level of the house.
The chigaidana are a set of decorative staggered shelves placed in the recess next to the tokonoma alcove. Chigai-dana consist of two or three shelves placed adjacent to each other at different levels, partially supported by a slim post. Saobuchi are long, narrow battens that support the ceiling boards (tenjō ita). Saobuchi are usually aligned parallel to the side of the room where the tokonoma (decorative alcove) is, and are spaced at about 30 to 60 centimetre intervals. The en-bashira are the posts or pillars at the outer edge of the veranda that support the veranda eave purlin.
A Shoji is, at its most basic, a sliding wall of sorts, constructed with translucent paper instead of window glass. This not only provides homes with a customizable space but also a means of enjoying natural light without the excessive brightness one would experience through a typical glass window. By maximizing the space and constructing implements that act as dual-purpose furniture pieces, Minka’s are able to act not only as a comfortable living space but also as a functional and practical living space. One example of this would be utilizing large glass walls to allow for natural lighting instead of investing in many unnecessary light fixtures. This traditional style of Japanese housing, otherwise known as Minka, is a mastery of architecture. Blending modern trends with traditional nods to Japanese culture, the style of these Japanese houses is simply stunning.
The older they are, the lower the eaves, and the more walls and columns they have, giving an impression of isolation. Relatively new houses are equipped with elaborately worked wooden parts such as tokonoma and shoji doors, whereas old minka are simple and rustic. Tatami mats are definitely better for the environment compared to western-style mattresses made from synthetic materials. Due to the significantly less cushioning, tatami mats will feel much harder to sleep on than western-style mattresses.A tatami mat has just enough cushioning that it won’t feel like sleeping on a hardwood floor.
Japanese paper (washi) is pasted to the lower portion of the walls to protect the guests’ kimonos from the mud plaster on the walls. The Takamatsu house was built in 1917 in the Sukiya style in Nagoya, and relocated to a scenic part of the Aichi Prefecture in the 80s to save it from destruction. In keeping with the true Sukiya aesthetics of understatement, this large house has an air of modest elegance rather than showy pride. Another common feature of traditional Japanese homes is Fusuma’s, another type of sliding wall. Instead of diffusing light, a Fusuma allows for a practical, functional, and totally customizable way to transform a space.
“The farmers found beauty in irregular materials, advantage in disadvantage,” said Shigeru Matsushita, museum interpreter at Nihon Minka-en, where folk houses from across Japan are preserved in an outdoor park. Larry Ellison, chief executive of Oracle Corp., built a Japanese-style estate in Silicon Valley, complete with a teahouse he imported from Japan. Stanley and his wife, Sayuri, have four kids under age 18 and an annual income that averages $65,000.
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