Japanese Architectural Culture

Japanese architecture developed its basic characteristics as early as the 1st century A.D., which were the use of wooden frames and the lightness of the air. These features were probably developed under the influence of southern China and the South Seas, and also because of the abundance of wood on the Japanese islands.

Later, Chinese influences became significantly more dominant, and the wooden frames were constructed with Chinese-style beams and columns, and even arches. They were arranged in parallel, so that the spatial layout was also based on the "room" as the basic unit, with several rooms arranged side by side to form a horizontal rectangle. They have all the characteristics of Chinese architecture, including curved roofs, flying eaves and corners, and various details such as scops owls and fans. Thus, it can be roughly said that ancient Japanese architecture is subordinate to the Chinese architectural system.

However, Japanese buildings still have distinctive national characteristics and are very creative, especially in their aesthetic features. In addition to the early shrine, Japan's ancient capital city pattern, large temples and palaces, etc., more adherence to the Chinese type system, while the residence to the later is almost completely free of Chinese influence and its own style, structural methods, spatial layout, decorative, artistic style, etc. are very different from the Chinese residential interest. Tea rooms, counting houses, and so on, can be said to be completely unique to Japanese architecture. Their aesthetic characteristics are very easy and friendly, rich in human feelings. The scale is small, the design is meticulous and simple, subtle and elegant. Japanese architecture emphasizes and excels in presenting the natural beauty of materials, structures and functional factors. Grass, wood, bamboo, stone, and even burlap and paper are all utilized to the fullest extent.

However, there were periods when aspects of Japanese architecture were exaggerated. For example, the eaves that stretch far, the large arches, the overly ornate decorations, the withered landscapes in the gardens, etc., and even the penchant for natural forms of jutsu stone can be so paranoid as to fall into the realm of artifice.

In the course of nearly 2,000 years of development, Japanese architecture has maintained a link with Chinese architecture, constantly responding to changes in Chinese architecture. Because it was linked, at a later stage, mainly to the folk architecture of southern China, it was able to maintain a free and lively character with a strong sense of life.

The most distinctive feature of Japanese architecture is the shrines, which are scattered all over the country, numbering about 100,000, and have been built without interruption from ancient times to the present. The early shrines were modeled after the more elaborate residential buildings of the time, because the concept of a shrine was that it was the residence of a deity, and people could only guess the life of the deity according to their own lives, and architecture was far from being at a level where it would be possible to create a separate type of shrine just for the deity. Therefore, these early shrines were close to the simple life of the people, and their architectural style can represent the basic temperament of Japanese architecture.

1.3 Modern Architecture in Japan

The development of modern architecture in Japan has gone through a variety of styles such as total westernization, revival of the Teikan and Wabi-sabi styles, and so on, and finally, through the continuous exploration of the deep culture of the Japanese nation, it has sought to find a point of convergence between tradition and modernity in terms of the dialogue between the building and its environment, the grasping of the spatial imagery, and the understanding of the material properties, and so on.

1.3.1Contradiction and reconciliation of modeling and technology in the placement of equipment

All kinds of equipment is often a headache for architects, it is always annoying to ask for this and that, but it must be at peace with the equipment, and the comfort and safety of the building all depend on the care of the equipment, in the process of the modern building more and more tends to be intelligent, the equipment is also increasingly high in technical content, and it is particularly important to cooperate with each other, so it is very important. In the process of modern buildings becoming more and more intelligent, the technical content of the equipment is also higher and higher, and it is especially important to cooperate with each other, maybe it is a good way to hide it, but the Japanese building has provided us with a more positive approach to the piping equipment, air vents and other technical design is also included in the scope of the architectural design. In the design department of Japanese architectural product manufacturers, a large number of designers are gathered, and they work closely with engineering designers in the process of designing products, so that the products meet the dual needs of modeling and technology at the same time.

1.3.2The contradiction between simplicity and texture of building materials

Under the influence of the modernist architectural ideology of "decoration is a sin", modern buildings are always pursuing simplicity and clarity, which makes it easy to lose the texture of the materials. In recent years, in Japan, the vitality and expressive power of materials have been reawakened and become one of the sources of architectural creation, and the design materials have been diversified: wood brings a warm feeling and allows people to reacquaint themselves with traditional culture; steel buildings reproduce their own hardness and the delicate texture of metal.

In addition, in terms of material technology, the use of a variety of high-tech composite materials is also one of the new features of contemporary architecture, titanium alloys, carbon fibers and so on, with its lightweight and high strength to the architectural world proposed new possibilities to reduce the construction process and construction costs.