Japan and Japan

Japan and Japanisme  

Chapter 18 

    Historic Japanese architecture includes Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, castles, palaces, and other governmental building. In Japanese architecture there is a high variety of size, material, and decoration. An example would be the Castle of Edo, the structure is built out of stone, huge stone walls and wide moats. This time was built on large powerful decorations in their designs and buildings. 

    Another design that made a large impact in the time was the Imperial Villa at Katsura, this design focuses on aa great hall that's a part of a grand symmetrical complex. The design has a rustic and reflective quality that the larger structures around don't quite have. The villa is sited in the countryside and has connecting tea houses that can be led to by a path connecting them all. In Japanese architecture there are many different techniques that they would have used over and over. This is because this building technique has stood the test of time. 

   Throughout time there were many foreigners that traveled into Japan these travelers made an impact on Japan as well. For example, Mexican furniture makers would start to incorporate different Japanese styles and traditions and make them their own. As well as for clothing they would import different folding screens and fabrics. This made a huge impact on world design, when other cultures are inspired by different countries. 

Throughout this time there were also many prints made, lots being on urban living. These painting would have been based on pleasurable days that an individual would have taken place in. Furniture was also a huge part of this time, traditionally Japanese people lived on the floor level however there were lots of built-ins like cabinets and shelving. Many furniture pieces are asymmetrical.

    Japonisme refers to the European art influence by Japan, it was an attempt to understand the essentials qualities of Japanese art. 

One Step Further  

Kenzo Tange is one of the most successful architects of the post WW2, he emphasizes simplicity, perfection of form, and compelling designs. In all of his projects, there is a recurrent theme that Tange has verbalized, "Architecture must have something that appeals to the human heart, but even then, basic forms, spaces and appearances must be logical. Creative work is expressed in our time as a union of technology and humanity. The role of tradition is that of a catalyst, which furthers a chemical reaction, but is no longer detectable in the end result. Tradition can, to be sure, participate in a creation, but it can no longer be creative itself."