Medieval Japanese Architecture

Medieval Japanese architecture refers to the architecture of Japan before the Meiji Restoration. The mild climate and abundant rainfall in most parts of Japan made timber plentiful, and wood-framed straw roofs were the traditional form of Japanese architecture. Houses were built in an open layout with elevated floors and deep eaves. The rooms are small and delicate, and the pillars, beams and wall panels are not painted. The wooden floor of the house is covered with a mat, usually made of grass, called " " (Chinese phonetic translation of "tatami"), on which you sit, lie down and live. In ancient Japan, it was customary to live in one house for only one generation, and then build a new house for the next generation. Before the reign of Empress Jotunori (690-697), the royal family also built a new palace for each dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Chinmei (539-571), with the influence of Chinese culture and the introduction of Buddhism, Japanese architecture began to use tile roofs, stone foundations, white and vermilion colors, and roofs with lifts and wings. Magnificent Buddhist temples, pagodas, and palaces appeared, and the architectural styles of houses and shrines also changed. The influence of foreign cultures on Japanese architecture can be roughly divided into two stages: the first stage is the absorption of China's Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang dynasties culture, to the end of the 9th century and gradually Japanese; the second stage is the influence of China's Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties culture, to the 16th century after the completion of the Japanese.

Shrines Japanese buildings dedicated to nature gods, clan ancestors and heroic figures. Shrines have traditionally practiced a system of "shodai", that is, every certain period of time (such as 20 years, 60 years) to rebuild. Therefore, some of the existing shrine buildings were rebuilt in later generations, even though they still retain the style of the early houses. The plan and appearance of the early shrines were relatively simple, with wood-paneled walls, hollowed-out lower parts, double-sloped wood-framed straw roofs, no roof folds, and no coloring or carvings. There are two basic styles: one is called "Taisha-zukuri" and is represented by Izumo Taisha Shrine in Shimane Prefecture; the existing shrine house was replaced in 1744 and has a square plan, a hanging roof, an open door on the mountain side, and a central pillar in the interior. The other type is called "Shinmei-zukuri" and is represented by Ise Jingu Shrine, which is characterized by a three-roomed house with an open door on the front side and an overhanging roof.

After the Heian period, the number of shrine building styles increased, with the emergence of the "Kasuga-zukuri", a one-room square plan with a two-sloped roof and an overhanging gable, the "Ryu-zukuri", where the front gable of the "Shinmei-zukuri" was draped out to form a porch, and the "Ryu-zukuri", where the front gable of the main hall was draped out to form a porch. The "Ryu-zukuri" is a front porch with the front gable of the "Shinmei-zukuri"; the "Hachiman-zukuri" is a roofed structure with the roofs of the two temples joined together to form a link in front of the main temple; and the "Hiyoshi-zukuri" is a structure with the gables added to each of the three sides of the three-roomed shrine house. Since then, the style and number of shrines have been increasing, and by the Taisho period (1912-1926), there were about 120,000 shrines of various sizes throughout Japan.

Buddhist temples One of the main types of ancient Japanese architecture. 624, Japan has 46 Buddhist temples. Nara period (710 ~ 784) Buddhism flourished, the national Buddhist temples increased to several hundred. The famous Horyuji Temple (607) was rebuilt in the early Nara period, and its main buildings, such as the pagoda, the Buddhist temple, the central gate, and the cloister, are the oldest surviving buildings in Japan, and the architectural style still retains the characteristics of the Hatori period. After moving the capital to Heijo-kyo in the middle of the Nara period, Nara absorbed the Chinese culture of the Tang Dynasty and established a branch temple in each vassal state, and built Todaiji Temple in Heijo-kyo as the main branch temple. The main hall of Todaiji Temple is 11 rooms wide, about 40 meters high, and the statue of Buddha in the hall is about 20 meters high, which was the most magnificent building in Japan at that time, and there are two pagodas in front of the main hall, and there is a lecture hall at the back, and only the bronze Buddha in the temple is an old thing at that time. The representative building of the late Nara period, Tang Shodoji Temple (759), was built by the Chinese monk Jianzhen after his visit to the east with his disciples, reflecting the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty in China. During the Heian Period (794-1192), the aristocracy's yearning for the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss led to the development of magnificent Amidado halls, prominent examples of which include the Phoenix Hall (1053) of the Heikein Temple in Uji and the Amidado Hall of Joruriji Temple in Kyoto Prefecture. Among them, the Phoenix Hall is a collection of masterpieces of painting, sculpture, craftsmanship, and architecture. During the Kamakura period (1192-1333), when a new samurai power replaced the nobility, Zen Buddhism, which had been introduced in China during the Song dynasty, gained the admiration and belief of the samurai, and Zen temples, such as the Shariden of Enkaku-ji Temple in Kamakura, sprang up. Such temples were often modeled after Chinese Song Dynasty buildings, called "Tang-like"; buildings inherited from the old Heian period, called "Wabo"; and some Buddhist temples influenced by the architectural styles of the southeastern coastal areas of China, called "Daibutsu-like" or "Tenno-like". Other Buddhist temples influenced by the architectural styles of the southeastern coast of China are called "Daibutsu-type" or "Tenchu-type," with typical examples being the South Main Gate of Nara Todaiji Temple and the Jodo Hall of Jodoji Temple in Hyogo Prefecture. During the Muromachi Shogunate period (1338-1573), Zen Buddhism continued to develop, and Gokusan temples were established in Kyoto and Kamakura, modeled after the Gokusan and Ten Shastras of Zen Buddhism in China during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Residential houses Early Japanese houses were built with wooden frames and grass roofs, and the lower part of the house was hollowed out like a dry-roofed building. After the introduction of Buddhism, there was a marked change in the houses. During the reign of Emperor Shomu (724-748), the imperial court encouraged its subjects to build residences that were "painted red and white" (vermilion on the pillars and beams and white on the walls). The only remaining example of a residence from the Nara period is a five-room wooden frame building that has been converted into the Horyuji Temple's East Wing Chuanhodo, which was originally the residence of Mrs. Tangerine, the mother of the Empress of Emperor Shomu. In the Heian period, the nobleman's house was built in the style of "Bedchamber-zukuri," with the master's bedchamber in the center and the "opposite houses" for his dependents on the left, right, and rear sides, with a corridor connecting the bedchamber and the opposite houses, and with a garden pond to the south of the bedchamber, with pavilions next to the pond and connected to the opposite houses by a corridor for viewing and relaxing. The pavilion was connected to the opposite house by a corridor for enjoyment and recreation. The samurai houses of the Kamakura period had complex floor plans and internal divisions for defense reasons, and the layouts and appearances were varied. The monks had a small study room next to their apartments for reading sutras, and this was the beginning of the "Shoin-zukuri" style of residence. In the Muromachi (1338-1573) and Momoyama (1573-1600) periods, the Shoin-zukuri style of housing flourished. This type of house was open and simple in plan, with flexible divisions, and was equipped with a "shuin" (a small space for studying), a "bed room" (a place for hanging calligraphy and paintings and making offerings such as flowers and incense, which was shaped like a niche), a "shakubo" (a place for stationery and books), and a "hut" (a place to put stationery and books). The furnishings and interior treatments, such as "Between the Beds" (a place to hang calligraphy, paintings, flowers, incense, and other clean offerings in the shape of a niche), and "Bugsang" (a shelf for stationery and books), were rich in character. Due to the prosperity of commerce and the rise of "castle towns" (market towns) centered on castles, secular buildings such as market houses and merchants were developed; and the popularity of the tea ceremony among samurai and scholars contributed to the development of teahouse architecture, and the most characteristic of the teahouse was the Kusankan-style teahouse with a farmhouse flavor. "In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a trend of building castle watchtowers - "Tenshokaku" - a wooden structure with a high-rise pavilion, not only had the appearance of a castle, but also had the appearance of an old castle, with the appearance of a new castle. This is a kind of wooden structure of high-rise pavilion, not only has the practical purpose of defense, but also as a political means of showing off and deterrence. The famous ones are Inuyama, Himeji, Matsumoto, Kumamoto, Nagoya and so on. In the early Edo period (1615) issued a ban to limit the construction of the castle, after this wind gradually disappeared.