The Art of Japanese Architecture presents a complete overview of Japanese architecture in its historical and cultural context. The book begins with a discussion of early prehistoric dwellings and concludes with a description of works by important modern Japanese architects. Along the way it discusses the iconic buildings and architectural styles for which Japan is so justly famous--from elegant Shinden and Sukiya aristocratic villas like the Kinkakuji "Golden Pavilion" in Kyoto, to imposing Samurai castles like Himeji and Matsumoto, and tranquil Zen Buddhist gardens and tea houses to rural Minka thatched-roof farmhouses and Shinto shrines. Each period in the development of Japan's architecture is described in detail and the most important structures are shown and discussed--including dozens of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The aesthetic trends in each period are presented within the context of Japanese society at the time, providing a unique in-depth understanding of the way Japanese architectural styles and buildings have developed over time and the great variety that is visible today. The book is profusely illustrated with hundreds of hand-drawn 3D watercolor illustrations and color photos as well as prints, maps and diagrams. The new edition features dozens of new photographs and a handy hardcover format that is perfect for travelers.

Traditional Japanese architecture—whether Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, residences, castles, or teahouses—has become increasingly familiar around the world. Through the media of motion pictures, art books, T.V. documentaries and dramas such as Shogun, as well as through personal experience, more and more people have gained an acquaintance and appreciation of the architecture of premodern Japan. Some may even be able to name or recognize the oldest and the largest wooden structures in existence, which are to be found in Japan at Horyuji and Todaiji respectively. Yet often this knowledge is still rudimentary. Confusion abounds as to what distinguishes Japanese architecture from Chinese or Korean, or even Southeast Asian, not to mention what sets off a Buddhist temple from a Shinto shrine or, say, a residence of the tenth century from one of the eighteenth. Until now, there has been no recourse for those seeking, through a single book, to increase their appreciation of the whole range of traditional Japanese architecture. With the publication of What Is Japanese Architecture?, however, this situation has finally been rectified. Construction, design, carpentry, and the background of Japanese architecture, from prehistory to mid-nineteenth century, are here made available within the covers of a single, compact book. With over 300 drawings that illuminate the essentials of discussion more concretely than words could ever do, and a text that is succinct and always to the point, the book is divided into four parts—one each dealing chronologically with religious structures, residences, castles, and places of entertainment. The reader learns not only how each of these fields of architecture has evolved over the centuries and what distinguishes the buildings of one age from those of another, but something of the historical conditions and the people responsible for these changes as well as the role played by carpentry and methods of construction. The establishment and growth of the historic Japanese capitals—Nara, Kyoto, Edo—is brought sharply into focus, along with the rise and spread of other urban centers. Also highlighted are the mansions of the court nobility; the castles and residences of the samurai aristocracy; the homes of village elders; dwellings of the common people; educational institutions, and places of entertainment such as theaters, red-light districts, teahouses, and country villas. Any book that is as full of information as this, and readily accessible and clearly illustrated at the same time, will be of great interest and use to a wide range of people—architects, designers, historians, carpenters, movie buffs, tourists, garden designers, and others, whether amateur or professional. Whatever the readers' background, there is little doubt about one thing: they will emerge with an acuter eye and a greater sensitivity to the delights of traditional Japanese architecture.

By examining the Japanese history of buildings and building designs from prehistory to modern day, lovers of Japan will develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of this island country. Simplicity, sensitivity to the natural environment, and the use of natural materials are the hallmarks of Japanese architecture. The Art of Japanese Architecture provides a broad overview of traditional Japanese architecture in its historical and cultural context. It begins with a discussion of prehistoric dwellings and concludes with a description of modern Japanese buildings. Important historical influences and trends--notably the introduction of Buddhist culture from Korea and China, the development of feudalism, and the influence of modern Western styles of building--are all discussed in detail as facets of Japanese design. Through all of these changes, a restrained architectural tradition developed in marked contrast to an exuberant tradition characterized by monumentality and the use of bold colors. The book provides tremendous insights into the dynamic nature of Japanese architecture and how it reflects an underlying diversity within Japanese culture. The book is profusely illustrated with over 370 color photographs, woodblock prints, maps, diagrams, and specially commissioned watercolors.

One of Japan's leading architects examines notions of Japan-ness as exemplified by key events in Japanese architectural history from the seventh to the twentieth century; essays on buildings and their cultural context. Japanese architect Arata Isozaki sees buildings not as dead objects but as events that encompass the social and historical context—not to be defined forever by their "everlasting materiality" but as texts to be interpreted and reread continually. In Japan-ness in Architecture, he identifies what is essentially Japanese in architecture from the seventh to the twentieth century. In the opening essay, Isozaki analyzes the struggles of modern Japanese architects, including himself, to create something uniquely Japanese out of modernity. He then circles back in history to find what he calls Japan-ness in the seventh-century Ise shrine, reconstruction of the twelfth-century Todai-ji Temple, and the seventeenth-century Katsura Imperial Villa. He finds the periodic ritual relocation of Ise's precincts a counter to the West's concept of architectural permanence, and the repetition of the ritual an alternative to modernity's anxious quest for origins. He traces the "constructive power" of the Todai-ji Temple to the vision of the director of its reconstruction, the monk Chogen, whose imaginative power he sees as corresponding to the revolutionary turmoil of the times. The Katsura Imperial Villa, with its chimerical spaces, achieved its own Japan-ness as it reinvented the traditional shoin style. And yet, writes Isozaki, what others consider to be the Japanese aesthetic is often the opposite of that essential Japan-ness born in moments of historic self-definition; the purified stylization—what Isozaki calls "Japanesquization"—lacks the energy of cultural transformation and reflects an island retrenchment in response to the pressure of other cultures. Combining historical survey, critical analysis, theoretical reflection, and autobiographical account, these essays, written over a period of twenty years, demonstrate Isozaki's standing as one of the world's leading architects and preeminent architectural thinkers.

Since Osaka World Expo '70 brought contemporary forms center stage, Japan has been a key player in global architecture. Presenting the latest in Japanese building, this book reveals how the likes of Tadao Ando, SANAA, Shigeru Ban, Kengo Kuma, and Junya Ishigami are relinking past, present, and future--building greener and smarter than ever before.

Bruno Taut ranks the Ise Shrine with the Parthenon in architectural importance. John Burchard, in his preface, characterizes Ise as "one of the great architectural achievements of history. ... I suppose," he comments, "Ise has many lessons for contemporary architects once they get over being embarrassed by it." Robin Boyd, in his book, 'Kenzo Tange', observes that it was only after the Second World War that the West realized that many qualities of modern architecture were quite old. "These qualities had existed for centuries in Japanese buildings. ... It [Japanese tradition] relied on the use of ingenious construction and untreated natural material to build a sort of refined extension of nature: a concentration of nature's own kind of beauty. Thus Japan was rediscovered." The Ise Shrine, situated some 270 miles west of Tokyo, is both old and new. The shrine dates from at least A.D. 685, but every twenty years it is completely rebuilt. Each rebuilding--there have been 59 so far--is scrupulously undertaken to guarantee an exact and identical reproduction of the preceding shrine. In 1953, after the most recent renewal, but prior to the transfer of religious objects, not only were the authors allowed to inspect the prohibited area--it is ringed by four fences and contains the most important buildings--but they were granted unprecedented permission to photograph it. This book represents the first opportunity for most Westerners to view and study one of the architectural wonders of the world. 'ISE : Prototype of Japanese Architecture begins with a preface by John Burchard and a foreword by the internationally recognized architect, Kenzo Tange. Tange also has written one of the two main essays in the book; the other is by Noboru Kawazoe, in which Ise is examined primarily in terms of Japanese mythology and history. Tange discusses Ise in an architectural perspective; he writes, "In the subsequent history of Japanese architecture, extending over more than a thousand years, it has proved impossible to advance beyond the form of Ise. ... Along with the Parthenon Ise represents the peak in the history of world architecture. 'ISE : Prototype of Japanese Architecture belongs' in every fine arts collection and in every architectural library. The photographs, reproduced with exquisite care, make this book an invaluable architectural study, a work of genuine scholarship, and a visual delight. The text, especially prepared for a Western audience, invites the attention of all those interested in Japanese culture. Scholars of comparative religion and cultural anthropology will also find the book of value."--Publisher's description.

"In addition to highlighting the human benefits of built environments which relate to particular place, time and being, many of the Japanese buildings examined illustrate practical strategies for revealing these universal parameters which are equally applicable beyond Japan. It is suggested that wider use of some of these approaches could not only help to sustain both environmental and cultural identities against the homogenising effects of globalisation, but also has the potential to heighten our appreciation of the peculiar condition of being here now."--Jacket.