Historic Japanase Architecture

In the earliest Japanese architecture, walls were built by using thatch or bamboo with wood frames and with thatched roofs. Forms and techniques used in wood construction reflect the climate of Japan and are deeply rooted in the evolution of the Japanese culture. The Japanese liked to use bark of the cypress tree for thatch. Then, few regions have influenced the architecture culture. For example, the Korean and the Chinese (Zen Buddhism). The two great religions, Buddhism and Shinto, had a tremendous impact upon the architecture of Japan. The Buddhist belief in reincarnation in all forms of life, while Shinto creed maintain that the spirit of the gods were manifested in natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, typhoons, volcanoes and spring. The traditional house is a practical manifestation of these beliefs. The Buddhist teaching that the house should be merely a temporary dwelling coincided with the Japanese need to built flexible, lightweight structures that were adaptable enough to protect the inhabitants from extreme of heat and cold. The house is essentially skeletal, consisting of vertical pillars rising from a horizontal wooden platform and topped by a wide, low-pitched roof that provides shade during summer and insulation in winter. It a symbolic and metaphorical reference to the Buddha's enlightenment while sitting under a tree.

A garden is emphasis in a traditional Japanese house. The house can be disclosed to its surrounding through the opening or even removal of sliding components, and the ground are cultivated to grow up and around the building, providing to grow up and around the building, providing visual stimulate for the inhabitants and representing the inter-relationship between the man-made structure and the natural environment. However, the apparent sense of randomness to be seen in a well-maintained Japanese garden in actually carefully orchestrated. The garden has been designed to be a seasonally adjustable aid to contemplation.