3. Any visitor to the ancient capital of Kyoto, for example, would undoubtedly visit Kinkakuji, the "Temple of the Golden Pavilion", dating from the 13th century; ...

4. ... and Heian Shrine, honoring two of the nation's most illustrious emperors and built as a scale model in imitation of the city's earliest palaces.

5. Most would visit as well Nijo Castle, temporary residence of the Tokugawa shogun when visiting from Edo, a structure dating from the 1600's.

6. Nearby at Himeji lies another fortified castle, Japan's best preserved, a series of structures built in the early 17th century.

7. Independently, all visitors find somewhere, in one of Japan's innumerable walking streets, a favorite little traditional style shop.

8. Along the way from tourist attraction to tourist attraction, most visitors will take time to relax, however briefly, in a tea ceremony room set in the midst of an exquisite temple garden.

9. All the traditional architectural variety encountered in this process might at first appear a bit overwhelming, even bewildering; yet, despite the multiplicity of forms and styles encountered, a common set of assumptions undergirds all traditional Japanese architecture -- and understanding these assumptions will help any interested visitor or student of architecture better and more fully appreciate those elements in the traditional built environment encountered over the course of a visit to Japan itself.

Let us begin with an exploration of those individual elements that, when taken together, comprise a traditional Japanese-style building.

10. Point number one: most traditional structures in Japan employed a common architectural vocabulary; many items in this vocabulary, in turn, were present from the very beginning, found in even Japan's earliest buildings.

11. Whether ancient or traditional, for example, Japanese buildings made extensive use of readily available natural materials ...

12. ... including miscanthus reed thatch, bamboo, straw ...

13. ... stone, wood, plaster and clay tile.

14. Similarly both traditional and ancient structures shared a common post-and-beam construction style.

15. Almost without exception, since prehistoric times, beams and brackets, held aloft by load-bearing pillars, have supported roofs through-out the Japanese islands.

The use of this post-and-beam construction style provided both structural strength and the needed flexibility to withstand such natural disasters as earthquake and typhoon.

16. Early structures had beams and rafters tied together, bound in place by straw rope.

17. In time the use of rope gave way to an emphasis on fine joinery; buildings came to be pieced together like giant wooden puzzles with beams and pillars, railings and window grids all locked in place without the extensive use of nails.

18. Since posts and beams supported the roof, walls in traditional Japanese buildings essentially were utilized as decorative dividers, easily pushed aside or removed altogether, even along the exterior.

19. Many traditional Japanese structures are then in essence merely roofed pavilions, open to cooling summer breezes but hard pressed to cope with winter's chill.

20. Traditional rural structures provide illustrations of each of these architectural characteristics at work in the real world; keep them in mind as we turn our attention to a discussion of a representative farmhouse typical of the Shirakawa area in snowy and mountainous rural Gifu prefecture.

As is readily apparent, rural homes in traditional Japan were quite large, impressively so, primarily because they sheltered a multiplicity of functions in a single structure.

21. This particular farmhouse, for instance, once housed forty-one individuals -- family members, household servants, agricultural laborers.

22. At one end of the main building an attached stable maintained direct family access to domestic animals even during severe winter weather.

23. A second wing attached to the main structure served as the kitchen.

24. The rice crop was stored on the fourth level, also for accessibility; a floor below silk worms ate mulberry leaves, then ...

25. ... spun themselves into cocoons used in the manufacture of silk cloth, a common cottage industry in rural Japan.

26. Beyond these multiple use factors, environmental conditions also were considered in rural architectural design, here and elsewhere in Japan: the Shirakawa structure's steeply-pitched roof, for example, was intended to keep a heavy load of winter snow from accumulating overhead.

27. So it was that in a single architectural space, this farmhouse managed to incorporate not only residential quarters but a stable, kitchen, storage areas and space for silkworm cultivation while taking into account as well the need to protect against the typically severe winter weather common to the area.

28. Of course, not all traditional rural residences in Japan looked alike; in fact, though rooted in a common heritage, in a common architectural vocabulary and in the use of common construction materials, ...

29. ... the great variety of structures in rural Japan illustrates graphically just how strongly ...

30. ... local environmental conditions and local geographical circumstances can influence an architectural tradition.

31. Even these photographs illustrate merely a handful of the many architectural variants found in rural Japan during the traditional period.

32. Many go beyond simply providing shelter, in their exquisite detail illustrating as well rural "folk art" of the highest quality craftsmanship and of great inherent beauty.

33. This is an elevated rice storage shelter, representative of a prehistoric building type exerting a profound influence on subsequent architectural (and cultural) development in traditional Japan. It illustrates for our purposes as well the impact of historical influences on Japanese traditional architectural design.

34. The spread of wet rice agriculture to prehistoric Japan brought with it the need to protect the harvested crop from both animal predators and the elements.

Raised wooden shelters gave that protection -- and inspired other architectural variations as well.

35. Rice rapidly became a vital ingredient in Japanese life and culture; its semi-sacred character can be seen in the influence exerted by the prototypic rice storage shelter on the elevated construction style and form of the oldest extant examples of Japanese Shinto shrine architecture.

36. Likewise the widespread use of raised floors in other Japanese structures can be linked to the introduction of the elevated rice storehouse.

37. In aristocratic structures, in turn, elevation became an architecturally maintained mark of relative social rank.

The gradations involved -- to the Western eye -- might appear inconsequential; however, to a Japanese in traditional times, whether one stood on an earthen floor, knelt on a wooden veranda or sat on a straw mat-covered floor clearly defined one's relative status and position within society.

38. Another cultural influence exerted by the adoption of the prototypic rice storage shelter structural design pattern: some architectural historians see the utilization of elevated floors in many Japanese building forms as precluding the use of the chair in Japan.

Its use had been known for centuries in neighboring China, but in Japan raised floors allowed escape from the damp and drafts of ground level seating without confining the occupant to a single location as did the chair.

39. The use of elevated floors also increased structural safety: every floor was positioned over a series of supporting posts, each post in turn resting on its own foundation stone; this arrangement gave the entire structure the "give" needed to withstand earthquake tremors, a quality absent in rigid stone or pounded earth foundations.

40. Other influencing factors exerting a profound impact on traditional Japanese architecture came with the importation of Buddhism to Japan from China via Korea in the sixth century A.D.

41. Today in many locations through-out Japan one can still visit extant examples of early Buddhist temple architecture, some -- like the Horyuji in Nara -- dating to the earliest years of the seventh century.

42. These early structures introduced a host of new ideas and architectural forms to Japan; later buildings illustrate the process of adaptation to Japanese needs and aspirations.

43. Buddhist temples do not consist of merely a single structure but rather an entire complex of buildings spread out over a considerable area.

44. At first -- in the Chinese fashion -- these compounds were neatly ordered, usually laid out within a rectangular walled enclosure on relatively level ground, the set of structures imposed on the surrounding landscape.

45. Later temples migrated to more mountainous environs; here temple complexes spread over the mountain side in a seemingly random pattern as necessitated by the irregularity of the physical setting and temple buildings blended in more intuitively with their natural surroundings, adapting themselves fully to the native environment.

46. Among the many structures included in a typical Buddhist temple complex, one might expect to find a massive gate marking the entrance to the religious heart of the temple; ...

47. ... a multistory pagoda protecting an important religious relic; ...

48. ... a pair of smaller towers, one housing a ceremonial drum; ...

49. ... the second, a large bronze bell.

50. In the center of the complex one would encounter a large hall for worship, prayer or meditation; ...

51. ... nearby one would find reliquaries preserving religious offerings and donations, ...

52. ... libraries containing sacred sutra writings, ...

53. ... storehouses protecting temple treasures.

54. One would also happen upon other smaller chapels, ...

55. ... living quarters for the resident monks, ...

56. ... well-tended gardens ...

57. ... and temple dining halls, many specializing in vegetarian cuisine.

Temple complexes like these introduced the Japanese to the principle of multiple structures within a given architectural space; later palaces and castles, rural farmhouses and urban residences alike adopted this notion and incorporated garden and landscape design as well into traditional residential architectural planning.

58. One other feature common to many of these structures -- and another architectural element introduced to Japan with the arrival of Buddhism -- was the widespread use of clay tile as roofing material.

59. The use of clay tile on temple roofs -- substantially heavier than the straw it replaced -- led in turn to the development of a sophisticated system of bracketing to support the added weight; initially this bracketing system was quite simple, straight-forward and utilitarian.

60. It evolved, however, into a complicated architectural element increasingly utilized merely for decorative effect.

61. Shinto, "the way of the gods," is the source of Japan's indigenous religious values and practices; and, like Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, too, developed an independent architectural voice in Japan over the centuries.

62. The entrance to a Shinto shrine is marked by a torii gateway with a double crossbar (a Buddhist temple torii in contrast has only a single crosspiece).

63. A braided straw rope hung with folded and cut strips of white paper further demarks the sacred space enclosed by the shrine.

64. The compound beyond may encompass a great many structures ...

65. ... or the entire shrine might consist of a simple roadside alter.

66. In fact architectural components may be entirely absent: here massive straw ropes link two sacred rocks, one topped by a small torii; together the rocks make up a sea-side Shinto shrine, a "sacred space" every bit as hallowed as that encompassed within any other, more architecturally elaborate, complex.

67. Typically, the architectural and religious heart of most large scale Shinto shrines, however, is a raised "god house" in which resides the principle deity associated with the shrine.

There may be more than one such "god house."

68. In front but separated from the "god house" is an alter area with a prominently situated offering box; this architectural arrangement allowed worshipers only a glimpse of the sacred structure beyond.

69. Nearby one might find another set of "god houses" set aside for visiting deities.

70. Architecturally the structures to be found in a shrine complex can range from simple, unpainted buildings in ancient style ...

71. ... to ornate, ostentatious, even garish buildings -- these latter quite out of keeping with our usual expectations of the typical in Japanese architecture.

72. Yet even here, amid the paint and gilt, one glimpses the sense of order, detail and precision traditionally associated with Japanese architectural design.

73. Fortunately -- in the view of many -- the style of domestic architecture favored by Japan's aristocratic elite ignored for the most part Shinto-inspired elaboration, choosing to follow instead the pattern established by Buddhist temple architecture.

These palaces also illustrate numerous design elements common to other, less elaborate, forms of traditional Japanese domestic architecture.

74. Initially the palaces and villas of Japan's elite were essentially a series of pavilions connected by raised corridors set in the midst of a walled garden.

75. These palaces were often administrative and ceremonial centers as well as residences.

76. Because of these functional demands, palaces tended to be arranged architecturally so as to emphasize a general movement from public space to private space.

At Nijo Castle in Kyoto, for instance, public activities were concentrated in that part of the palace closest to the ceremonial entrance.

77. Intimates or those being entertained by the master of the house were ushered into apartments in an adjoining structure set aside for the reception of honored guests.

Still further "behind the scenes" stood the private living quarters to which few but family members and trusted servants were admitted.

78. Perhaps because Japanese aristocrats spent so much time inside, many of the structural barriers between interior and exterior were removed, opening the dwelling as much as possible to the outside world.

79. Verandas covered by extended eaves served as points of transition, being considered both part of the surrounding garden and part of the house.

80. The verandas also acted as corridors linking room to room.

81. The overhanging roof shaded the rooms within from the summer sun, yet allowed the lower winter sun to penetrate and warm.

82. At night or in inclement weather wooden shutters were pushed into place along grooves at the outer edge of the veranda ...

83. ... or hanging wooden screens were lowered to shut up the structure.

84. During the day, however, only light wooden lattice-type frames covered with white translucent paper stood between interior and exterior.

85. Interior palace floors, originally of highly polished wood, eventually gave way to floors covered with tatami cushioned straw mats set in wooden frames.

86. The interior space in these aristocratic residences became over time increasingly spacious and flexible.

87. Only opaque sliding screens, called fusuma, divided room from room.

88. When these were pushed aside or removed altogether, the interior could be opened completely from one side to the other.

89. The fusuma might be painted to evoke the natural world outside.

90. Or decorative folding screens might be set in place for a change of atmosphere.

91. But otherwise even aristocratic residences were simply decorated and only sparsely furnished.

92. An hibachi -- for warmth and tea -- might be found.

93. Low tables and cushions could be set in place as needed.

94. A large Buddhist alter inevitably dominated one room.

95. At night a variety of portable lamps provided illumination.

96. Items not in current use were not left in place but packed away in chests ...

97. ... or large trunks.

98. For safety these in turn were often kept in a nearby fireproof storehouse.

99. After a major conflagration these storehouses with their thickly plastered white walls, small shuttered windows, tile roofs and metal doors were often the only structures left standing.

100. Tile roofs, once confined to Buddhist temples, also came into common use of the main house in an aristocratic compound to reduce the risk of fire -- and to add to the prestige and sense of power and wealth these structures presented to the outside world.

101. This architectural concern with presenting an image of power and prestige to outsiders is best illustrated, however, in the design of the Japanese castle: herein all was for show, for effect, representative of the utilization of architecture as "monument" in traditional Japan.

102. Soaring skyward behind white plastered walls set atop high stone battlements, the Japanese castle symbolized military might in Japan during nearly a century of civil disorder beginning in 1477.

103. Yet, though built for defensive purposes, castles in Japan were meant to deter attack, not defend against it -- and even this purpose changed with time.

104. Early castles were built for strategic reasons on isolated mountain tops.

105. After 1600, however, with the reestablishment of centralized authority in Japan, the shogun military dictator restricted the number of castles to one per domain.

106. These new castles, now less forts and more symbols of administrative power, came to be constructed not in isolation but in "an open area, wherever the political and economic life of a territory was concentrated."

107. Even in times of peace, however, "the major consideration in castle [construction] was to arrange the buildings in such a way as to make the complex [appear] formidable to an attacker."

108. At the center stood the main castle turret and often the castle lord's residential quarters as well.

109. These main castle turrets often reached six stories in height; many boasted elaborately decorated triangular gables.

110. This smaller turret, at Inuyama Castle, among the oldest extant examples of this important structure, is crowned by a watchtower and boasts as well an arched gable.

111. Numerous defensive features were incorporated: gables, for instance, were particularly useful as covers for projections from which stones could be dropped on attacking forces.

112. Mullioned windows afforded protection to defenders firing from within the turret.

113. For fire protection, turret walls were plastered and the roofs covered with clay tile or copper plates.

114. Fortified outerworks added additional protection.

115. A maze-like pathway confused any invaders gaining access to the complex.

116. The entire castle was surrounded by walls atop high stone-faced ramparts.

117. A water-filled moat added another layer of safety.

118. The walls and ramparts surrounding the castle were broken by a number of gates, the most common of which was really two gates in one.

119. The first gate, usually narrow and with a tile roof, led into a rectangular court.

120. The second, wider gate, constructed at right angles to the first, led into the castle proper; it was a two story structure from which defenders could fire down on attackers entering the limited space between.

121. Interior walls separated the complex further into a series of courts; ...

122. ... each wall breached only by fortified gates.

123 Covered corridors sometimes connected smaller turrets, forming a courtyard completely surrounding the entrance to the main turret.

124. Attacking forces making their way into this court found themselves encircled by structures from which they could be fired upon from all sides.

125. Ironically these fortifications were not meant to make the castle easier to defend, only to make it appear formidable to potential foe.

126. Local lords "were unwilling to fight enemy troops who successfully broke into their castle compounds."

127. Instead, once perceiving from his observation post within the main turret that the battle being fought beyond the castle walls was lost, the defeated lord frequently chose to commit ritual suicide.

128. The entire turret was then set afire -- its burning a symbolic recognition of the lord's loss of power.

129. More often than not, however, appearances carried the day -- and castletowns grew up around the castle compound, drawing samurai, artisans and merchants alike to its protective shadow.

130. Widespread urbanization began in Japan in the late sixteenth century; the process quickly brought residences into closer proximity than ever before and encouraged architectural adaptations conducive to these more crowded conditions.

131. Streets in more wealthy areas soon came to be lined with low walls behind which samurai mansions might be found.

132. These tile-topped walls stretched along street after street ...

133. ... broken only by massive gatehouses ...

134. ... and mullioned windows through which visitors might be scrutinized before admittance.

135. Behind these walls the urban samurai mansions found were most often ...

136. ... smaller scale, more modest versions of aristocratic villas.

137. The urban homes of merchants and artisans on the other hand often fronted directly on the street.

138. The typical urban shop-residence was one and one-half or two stories in height at street level.

139. Elaborate lattice-work wooden screens across the front allowed light to enter while preserving some degree of privacy.

140. A shop or display area occupied the front of the structure.

141. The family living quarters were to the rear; storage, upstairs.

142. Like the residences of the aristocratic elite, the typical urban shop-residence fulfilled a multitude of functions.

143. Many included not only a shop, living quarters and storage but a workshop as well where the goods offered for sale were manufactured.

144. The same movement from public to private space present in aristocratic palaces occurred in traditional urban shop-residences.

145. Often a customer entering a shop went no further than the entranceway, an earth-floored corridor leading to the interior beyond.

146. Here he could purchase the specialty of the house from a clerk seated behind a lattice-work grill in the small adjacent shop.

147. Valued customers often moved beyond the entry, finding themselves in a large space dominated by an intricate set of interlocking exposed wooden beams soaring several stories overhead.

148. The large space beneath the beams served as a formal reception area and, towards the rear, as the family's combination living and dining room, ...

149. ... the latter dominated by a large charcoal brazier set into the raised floor.

150. Beyond a set of sliding doors and off the great beamed hall lay rooms for entertaining guests, private sleeping rooms and perhaps a tea ceremony room.

151. Not all shop-residences were so elaborate.

152. A common style in Kyoto, for example, arranged rooms one behind the other off a common earth-floored corridor which ran the length of the structure front to rear and which served in part as the kitchen.

153. Regional influences apparent in shop-residence architecture are fairly pronounced 'though urban styles are not nearly as varied as those found among the various regions of rural Japan.

154 For example, 'though most urban shop-residences were constructed of wood, those found in Kurashiki near Okayama ...

155. ... and in Imaicho near Nara had white plastered walls in imitation of fireproof storehouses, castles and temple architecture.

156. In looking briefly at the architectural variety found in traditional Japanese structures -- temples and shrines, ...

157. ... palaces and villas, ...

158. ... castles, ...

159. ... the homes of merchants, artisans ...

160. ... and rural peasants -- we have, I hope, begun to ascertain a number of additional common characteristics and common architectural themes not heretofore commented upon.

161. One we have commented on already: the use everywhere of natural materials -- wood, stone, bamboo, straw, clay, plaster, paper.

162. A second is the existence of a modular-based construction technique emphasizing common sizes and lengths: tatami mats were always of a standard size; the distance between supporting pillars, always a standard length.

163. Other commonalties include a multiple use approach to interior space, a simplicity of interior decoration, and an emphasis through-out on fine craftsmanship, on nuance and detail.

164. So, too, our brief survey has illuminated the essential link between the interior and exterior worlds ...

165. ... and the functional yet harmonious grace of traditional Japanese architecture.

166. An awareness of these characteristics should add to your pleasurable contemplation of any examples of traditional Japanese architecture you encounter in the weeks ahead; just remember, to appreciate the beauty of a traditional Japanese building, look for it in material selection and use, ...

167. ... in the simple functionalism and symbolic arrangement of interior space, ...

168. ... in the links established between interior and exterior, ...

169. ... in the attention lavished on craftsmanship and detail, ...

170. ... in the harmony of proportion achieved.

171. As you look about, at some point sit down -- remember, interior rooms (and the view of the garden beyond) were designed without exception to be best appreciated by a seated guest.

172. As you move through and around the structure, remain ever mindful of changing relationships and spatial interactions as well; remember little, if anything, was ever left to chance in a traditional Japanese structure.

173. Do this and you will be charmed by the purity of traditional Japanese architecture and its various styles.

174. Seldom ostentatious, never hidden behind surface decoration, the forms of traditional Japanese architecture stand squarely exposed to scrutiny, seeking merely to be seen, recognized and appreciated for what they represent on their own terms.

175. Approach them with this in mind, and you will come away enlightened -- and perhaps enthralled as well!