A STRIVING to integrate harmonious- ly current technological advances with the rich tradition of his past confronts today's Japanese architect. It is a prodigious task. But the success with which it is being tackled is evident in the universal respect now paid to the modern greats of Japanese architecture. A fuller understanding of how Japan has reached its present stature in world architecture may be obtained by delving briefly into the history of building in Japan which, beginning with the simple post and lintel, thatch- ed-roof structure, reached the apex
of its earliest architectural style with the construction of the Shinto Shrine at Ise in the fifth century, AD.
The shoden, or main building of the shrine, and the smaller treasure
Grand Shrine of Ise
authentic repro- duction of the an- cient style
houses are simple, carefully propor- tioned structures built of cypress wood, crowned with sloping thatched roofs and raised 4ft. to 7ft. above the ground on wooden columns. Every twenty years since the reign of the twenty years since the reign of the Emperor Temmu (673–678), the com- plex of four buildings and four fences of the Ise Shrine has been reconstruct- ed on an immediately adjacent site so that for more then 12 centuries this finest example of Shinto architecture has retained its original form.
In 538 AD Buddhism spread from continental Asia to the islands of Japan, exerting a new influence on the Japan, exerting a new influence on the arts and architecture that was to be a dominant factor for several centuries. Itinerant Korean artists and craftsmen helped to erect Buddhist temples in
the style of the 'Six Dynasties of China.' The temple of Horyuji near Nara, completed in 607 AD is one of the outstanding examples of this period. Portions of the original wooden buildings are still standing.
The influences of China's T'ang Dynasty grew even stronger during the period from 710 to 784 AD when the Japanese capital at Nara was laid out. on an axial Chinese plan with buildings complete with prominently curved green tile roofs, red columns and fully-coloured interiors. With the be- ginning of the Heian era (794-1192), the capital was moved to Kyoto and a more reserved and discriminating artis- tic taste began to emerge. Bark came to replace glazed tiles as
a roof- covering, bright colours were aban-
Architecture of Japan
a brief history
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Far East BUILDER, October 1969
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