A (not-so-helpful) guide to Japanese Architecture Pt. 1
There might be a couple of time when the client ask us a little bit specific: “I like Japanese architecture, could you provide us with some design that has some kind of reference to it?”
Oh, snap! Well, of course, I’m a little bit familiar with the notion of Japanese design, I’ve been there once, I love anime, I dig Dragon Ball and One Piece, I can sing the samurai x theme song fluently without text (or pitch control), and I love Hoka Hoka Bento, even that ain’t really helpful(unless the owner wants to build a time machine under the desk or build up some rock alternative band with crappy singer that the obesity level become a new third-world problem).
The closest thing that I might finally be sure that I’m right about Japanese is that the people got a huge amount of respect of their own cultural richness
From here, we totally can swim deeper into the design process phase with several approaches, might be the literal one, inject a lot of Japanese symbolism simply answering the question of “what” and “how”, or something more time consuming, do some deep research and getting down to philosophical level to answer the question of ”why”. There is no right or wrong in this situation, its just a matter of choice and situation, just like the old man Arata Isozaki used to say
Here is some thought that I’ve got a past couple of week, anyway.
A (not so) brief history of Japanese Architecture (kinda)
I thought first that discussing a bit of history and cause-effect won’t be that necessary, and then I was completely paralyzed and confused, a typical question popped up: “where the hell should I start?”
Simply put, I’m a little bit practical on this matter. I read the “what is Japanese Architecture” by Kazuo Nishi (bloody obvious), and “New Japanese Architecture” by Geetha Metha. Also, I want to give an acknowledgment to the thesis written by Yukio Futagawa, Teiji Itoh, and Isamu Noguchi called “The Roots of Japanese Architecture” that's been published by Harper and Row discussing the roots of Japanese architecture by clarifying the significance of dualistic thinking behind Bruno Taut Findings in Japan.
Well to be fair and straight, I have to say that this might have some kind of unintentional biases. I mean, I would like to discuss with the “architecture without architect” delivery, but there is resistance since Japanese architect noteworthy talent was acknowledged by three coveted Pritzker Prizes — Fumihiko Maki in 1993, Tadao Ando in 1995, and SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates) in 2010. It would be such a shame not to include the current Japanese architecture phenomena.
So I’m going to get along with the references (Yes! I try to play save). The Architecture of Japan, according to Geetha Meetha can be divided into several big stages. The categories are progressive, with two of them (The Old and the Future), belong to opposite extreme. Well, it's a little bit oversimplification I think, but, I’ll sum it up for you:
The Old; The Roots
Where it all came from? The question pumped up the adrenaline for some history junkies like me.
Two things that might be correlated with the Japanese design is the whole concept of Wabi Sabi (You will hear this phrase repeatedly throughout this passage) and Zen Minimalism. It might be an oversimplification definition, but I guess its enough for now.
“However, its ideals of rusticity and simplicity blossomed along with Zen Buddhism in the Muromachi (1336–1573) and Momoyama periods (1573–1603), and continued to develop through the Edo period (1603–1868).” (Meetha, 2011)
Besides rusticity and minimalism, wabi-sabi is also about harmony with nature, and the rejection of the ostentatious, the gaudy, and the willful.
To learn about the old Japanese architecture, we might have to take a look at some precedent. In this passage, I want to emphasize the findings by Bruno Taut, Kenzo Tange, and Arata Isozaki, on the building called Katsura Detached Palace, one that considered as the representation of great Japanese architecture (If I’m not mistaken).
Bruno Taut a Deutch who happened to be an architect, arrived in Japan in 1933 to avoid the Nazis Germany and stays there for a brief amount of time. Taut’s thought that the Katsura D. Palace is the highest achievement of Japanese architecture that somehow, embraces the antagonistic currents that exist together in peaceful harmony.
Maybe, this two quote below by Taut commenting the Haiku, the art of Japanese Poetry, gave me best correlation of antagonistic elements; The best representation of the simplistic (by means as utilitarian) yet philosophical nature of aesthetic, in both extreme sides that rhymes inside of The Katsura D. Palace,
“a picture of total simplicity without the least shade of sentimentality”
“Haiku is the most beautiful form of verse evoked with the minimum of artistic means, and yet with the maximum of physical and spiritual effect”
Taut’s above-quoted passage above doesn't differ much from his comments on Japanese Architecture:
“The artistic theme is one that lies outside the art of building and here indeed the best example show an achievement which in its artistic essence is not architecture. The ‘contradictio in adjecto’ has here become a work of art a proof of the Zen Philosophy surpassing all bounds”
In his passage, he tries to compare the general idea of several building qualities and conclude it in this diagram (If you want to know more, I suggest you read the full copy of Fundamentals of Japanese Architecture by Bruno Taut)
In his words, Katsura D. Palace achieved the normal utility, dignified representation, and philosophic spirituality, that coexist in unity without merging with each other. In this writing, he tried to explain the “symbiosis” that
In the word of Yukio Futagawa, Teiji Itoh, and Isamu Noguchi, The Katsura D. Palace as the representation of great Japanese Architecture follow the rule of harmony in dualistic correlation, as shown in this diagram below:
In several years later, another western architect Walter Gropius, agree with Taut’s conclusion recalling that the three quality, simplicity, modularity and indoor-outdoor relationship as “many of our modern requirements”
In 1998, Stanley Russel added another important point that often missed, stating:
“Still, to this day, architects equate Japanese architecture with a minimalist tendency, flexibility of interior space and continuity of interior and exterior space. One element that is conspicuously missing from the conversation is the role of the craftsman and collaboration in the creation of the rich Japanese architectural tradition.” (Russel, 1998)
Later Kenzo Tange adds up the discussion about Katsura D. Palace in “ “Katsura: Tradition and creation in Japanese architecture” in such a critical manner. In this writing, he tries to trace the very existence of the Japanese Architecture that he will define the villa into Jomon and Yayoi. These two forces, popular and aristocratic, in Katsura Collide, creating a spatial tension.¹
The latest would be Arata Isozaki talking about the Ambiguity of Place that Katsura D. Palace has. to sum up, he said that:
“The purity of the materials used, the precious dark Hinoki wood, the rigor of design principles, the simplicity of structural elements — columns, architraves, and balustrades — make it the ultimate expression of classical Japanese style.”
Nowadays, there are many Japanese architects that would like to keep the old spirit alive. According to Meetha opinion, Terunobu Fujimori and Atelier Tekuto are a brief example of an architect that preserve the Zen minimalism and Wabi-Sabi spirit.
Maybe to sum up, here is a quote from the one and only Kengo Kuma, Even if he strives to do otherwise.
According to Kuma, traditional Japanese architecture “was in great contrast to twentieth-century architecture that placed importance on the monumentality of architecture and the individual signature of the architect, often times in contradiction to what the natural environment offered” (Meetha, 2011)
After That..
After some changes and evolution in Japanese architecture that has a lot of factor that is to long to explain, There are several path that Japanese architecture takes, according to Geetha Meetha there is 3 big category that describes the new so called Japanese Architecture by its intention:
- The search for the ultimate White Cube
- The quest for the Wow Factor
- The Green Intention with concern for sustainibility
The White Cube
Notable Project: Dior by SANAA, SIA by Jun Aoki
“For those pursuing the white cube road to nirvana, the goal is to create a pure form, uninterrupted by construction details or the nuisance of functional programs. In a Zen-like quest for nothingness, large uninterrupted forms are created in contrast to the cacophony of the Japanese high street, and the magical effect of glass and translucent surfaces, often layered, is deployed.” (Meetha, 2011)
Somehow it correlate much with the intention of Zen, leave the unnecessary and inessential behind. It might really helpful for the collective environment problem: the result of urban sprawl and disintegration of looks, that become consequence of a large urbanization that might slightly help the building to stand out in a much dense and diverse urban visual framing.
I think, the problem of wabi-sabi and white cube architecture are pretty much the same, if not done accompanied by a excellent level of thought, the intention of a “shy” maneuver that try to remove their subjectivity of the artifact of a design thinking.
The Wow Factor
Notable Project: Tama Art University Library by Toyo Ito
“Buildings in this category are billboards of the big name brands as well as the architects who build them. Post-modernism produced crazy buildings, but they had a thin thread of philosophic logic, in that they were trying to break the tyranny of modernism. Wow buildings have no such agenda or excuse. According to Toyo Ito, “Architecture has to follow the diversity of society, and has to refl ect that a simple square or cube can’t contain that diversity” (page 126). While some architects work diligently to express the diversity while meeting the programmatic needs of the project, many slip into the Gehry-like architectrobatics.”(Meetha, 2011)
But I guess there is somehow a dignity in the wow architecture in Japan, due to the tradition of understatement and workmanship in here. But somehow it showed much the progression and slight-shift that happened in the conception of Japan building consumer, from “the elimination of inessential” into “the celebration of inessential”. Well I’m not gonna put an end here, cause somehow I feel the force of straw man fallacy plays a big role in my later opinion
The Green Intention
Notable Project: Inujima Art Project “Seirensho” by Hiroshi Sambuichi
“The other important trend in Japan is centered on environmental sustainability, a much-needed movement that has been gathering steam around the world. Over 48 percent of all carbon emissions in the world are attributable to construction and operation of buildings. While this is more than the carbon emissions from automobiles, the use of cars is also driven by urban planning and real estate decisions that send people to energy-inefficient, low-density urban sprawls”(Meetha, 2011)
With the current trend of global warming, I guess its not a shock that a country that has a reputation of the most respectful towards the nature would also take a role on this issue.
But if I’m not mistaken, this trend occurs in the younger generation of architect such as NAP Architect and Hiroshi Sambuchi, as well as some older architect like Kengo Kuma and Terinobu Fujimori. Kenzo Tange and friends from older generation, even that they borrowed the old Japanese inspiration from tradition and detail, the material and sustainability issues hasn't become their main concern. Well I hope I’m wrong.
Uncovered Catchphrase, or Things You Probably Would Find on The Internet With Ease
Or I might rephrase it as “What’s the other important thing anyway, cause I need it fast” question becomes the “other realm” that I wanna talk about (beside wabi-sabi of course, I’ve been using that phrase a lot in this passage).
To enrich the design itself with what truly essential meaning for a Japanese approach is to offer the seems to be insignificant (or straightforward) value what so ever. There might be much more things to cover, but I wanna solely focus on these things, that I easily find out on the internet:
渋い |Shibui|Perfected simplicity and sophistication
words which refer to a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty. Hayao Miyazaki’s anime movies, (you know I’m hyped as f when writing this) like Spirited Away and Howl Moving Castle are a good reflection of shibui, with their simple and subliminal story lines.
Somehow its just like its sibling phrase, iki ( 粋) Iki is an expression of simplicity, sophistication, spontaneity, and originality. It is ephemeral, straightforward, measured, and unselfconscious. Iki is not overly refined, pretentious, complicated (Wikipedia). Well I can’t tell the difference..Can you help me in the comment (If there’s anyone alive who reading this)
物の哀れ| Mono no Ware| “A Sensitivity to Ephemera” or “The Pathos of Things”
The Mono no Aware terms refers literally to the pathos of things. The Japanese design celebrate not only the construction of object but also the celebration of disappearance of its self and gracefully let go of our attachments to transient things. Well I guess it have some connection with the appreciation of impermanence.
The example of this, that i found on the internet (but suddenly forgot the source, I’ll add it once I remember) is a British-Japanese novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, author of best-sellers “Never Let Me Go” and “The Remains of the Day”, known for contrasting past and present events in a way that is reflective of mono no aware
Accepting decay and limited existence isn’t a loser attitude, it’s practical; in the sense that it allows you to focus on the here and now in new ways. The consciousness of changes are important to create a liberating feeling of conceptual grief of impermanence in architecture.
勿体無い|Mottainai!|”What a waste!”
This one sounds fun. From wikipedia, mottainai is a phrase that often used by environmentalist that literal meaning is “what a waste!”
The concept of mottainai can be seen within a process of design of a sustainable architecture, that can be applied both in a both end, on the beginning as an awareness of resource,in the end as a responsibility of outcome.
WOW, I think that there’s so much to cover, and I guess it will be a never ending writing progress if postponed the posting date, so If I may, I’ll end up this passage right here. I still really wanna talk about a lot of things, like the discussion from narrative perspective or other thing that more light like the inspiration from Japanese anime culture etc.
I promise Ill be back in Pt. 2, See ya folks.
[1] as been summed up by this website http://www.theblogazine.com/2014/07/the-architecture-of-katsura-palace/
Refference
Ishimoto, Y., & Tange, K. (1972). Katsura; tradition and creation in Japanese architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Russell, S.(1998). An Architecture Tradition/A Craftsman’s Tradition: The Craftsman’s Role in Japanese Architecture.
Taut, B. (1937). Fundamentals of Japanese architecture. Tokyo: Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai [the Society for International Cultural Relations].
