BACKGROUND JAPAN & KOREA Page 3 of 3

Background Pre-colonial

Japan Japan is composed of a chain of islands. The four main island of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Geologically, Japan is divided into two major areas, north-east and south-west. Volcanic eruptions and moderate to severe seismic disturbances are common in Japan and relate to the continuing crustal instability. Traditional Japanese architecture is of timber construction and uses only post-and-lintel system. Has traditionally been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (fusuma) were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized for different occasions. People usually sat on cushions or otherwise on the floor, traditionally; chairs and high tables were not widely used until the 20th century. Much in the traditional architecture of Japan is not native, but was imported from China and other Asian cultures over the centuries. Japanese traditional architecture and its history are as a consequence dominated by Chinese and Asian techniques and styles on one side, and by Japanese original variations on those themes on the other.[2] Partly due also to the variety of climates in Japan and the millennium encompassed between the first cultural import and the last, the result is extremely heterogeneous, but several practically universal features can nonetheless be found. First of all is the choice of materials, always wood in various forms (planks, straw, tree bark, paper, etc.) for almost all structures. Unlike both Western and some Chinese architecture, the use of stone is avoided except for certain specific uses, for example templepodiaandpagodafoundations. The roof is the most visually impressive component, often constituting half the size of the whole edifice.[2]The slightly curvedeavesextend far beyond the walls, covering verandas, and their weight must therefore be supported by complex bracket systems calledtoky, in the case of temples and shrines. Simpler solutions are adopted in domestic structures. The oversize eaves give the interior a characteristic dimness, which contributes to the building's atmosphere. Inner space divisions are fluid, and room size can be modified through the use of screens or movable paper walls. The separation between inside and outside is itself in some measure not absolute as entire walls can be removed, opening a residence or temple to visitors. Structures are therefore made to a certain extent part of their environment. Care is taken to blend the edifice into the surrounding natural environment. The use of construction modules keeps proportions between different parts of the edifice constant, preserving its overall harmony.[2]Building Techniques and Processes

Japan

The basic plan consist of a central core ( moya ) with a one bay deep aisle like addition ( hisashi ) placed on one, two, three or four sides. Bracket complexes (tokyo, kumimono), ranging from a single boat shaped bracket arm to six stepped complexes. The hidden roof (noyane), an ingenious system using two sets of rafters, came into universal use in the early Heian period.

Eaves are either single, kayaoi or double, kio. Rafters (taruki) are usually set in parallel rows and continue in shortened lengths when attached to the hip rafters at the corner of the hip and gable roofs. Under the eaves there are shallow latticed ceiling, latticed ceiling with curved ribs (shirin), a line of curved ribs in parallel arrangement, or the last plus another crossed set of curved ribs, forcing a lozenge pattern. The four roof type are gable (kirizuma-yane), hipped (yosemune-yane) pyramidal (hogyo-yane), and hip and gable combined (irimoya-yane). Kirizuma-yane- One of the simplest types of roof with both sides spreading outward at an angle from the ridge and terminating with their eaves extending beyond the walls. Yosemune-yane A hipped roof. A roof that descends from the ridge on four sides of a rectangular building. Hogyo-yane - A pyramidal style of roof constructed over a square building.Sometimes called the four-part style or the square style. Irimoya-yane - A hip-and-gable roof construction or a building with this roof construction. A gable type roof has a ridge and gable pediments on the upper part and a hipped roof on the four sides on the lower part. Roofing materials include tile (kawarabuki), cypress bark (hiwadabuki) , multi layered, thinly cut Wood shingles (kokerabuki) and, recently, copper sheeting over a timber base (dobanbuki). Except for metal spikes driven through the rafters to secure them to the purlins, all other members were assembled by various jointing techniques including the use of dowels.

HRCH 313 DUNGO, FLORES, FORBES, RAMIREZ, SAMANIEGO, SORIANO, TABAYAG BSAR-3A