Customer Reviews

Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings (Dover Architecture)

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In this excellent primer to the aesthetic of Japanese building design, Edward Morse casts a sympathetic and discerning eye on the constituent principles, parts, and details of traditional Japanese architecture and design. As we are led room by room through Japanese buildings of his time, we acquire an appreciation for the highly imaginitive individual expressions made by artisans of many crafts working within the standardization that gave the style longevity through many generations.

His study ranges from the historical origins of Japanese architecture to covering room floorplans, as has become a staple in introducing Japanese tatami mat rooms since he first wrote this book in the 1886, to lavishing minute attention to the details of various crafts that made the Japanese interior design accessories touchstones of excellence throughout the world. He also provides intimate vignettes of individual design principles, items, materials, and construction utilized throughout Japanese houses, rooms, and tea rooms.

His ability to translate the often fleeting impression of a space into precise identifiable elements makes him a valuable guide to this deceptively simple-looking style of interior design whose rigorous structure and aesthetic guidelines make it one of the great design styles of history. The extensive etchings included in the book provide concise, delightful, and sometimes humorous examples of the principles applied.

Because he covers the essential architectural and design elements thoroughly without becoming bogged down in mundane enumeration of tiny variances, the lively text gives the reader a very good sense of how spaces within a Japanese home are a sum of more than their constituent parts and how principles are applicable across the many disciplines that comprise the Japanese style. That he did it so sympathetically in a timeframe in which nationalistic chauvinism so predominated the world landscape makes it all the more impressive.

As an introductory volume to what makes traditional Japanese architectural design so delightful, this book is hard to beat. It's depth of understanding and comprehensive coverage of the style also make it an excellent reference volume for the more advanced student of Japanese design. That it is a standard item in bibliographies to Japanese design and on "must read" lists for Japanese design is no surprise.

This is a great book which describes in fine detail theJapanese home in the late 1800s. This book captures a period of timewhen the Japanese house still had its unique cultural style and hadn't been excessively influenced by american or european style architecture. The book is clearly written and there are many detailed drawings which illustrate the text's descriptions. It is an interesting book both for its architectural detail as well as for its historical perspective.

I purchased this book simply to get a quick overview of Japanese domestic architecture. The price is always right with Dover books so I just ordered it without any research. What a pleasant surprise to find myself reading a definitive work on the subject a few days later. The text is thoughtfully written and the illustrations skillfully done. As with any well written and illustrated book, color pictures are not overly missed. As a result of this book I find myself much more interested in Japanese architecture than I ever intended to be and heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in home or interior design.

I picked up the Dover paperback edition at a library book sale and was charmed by the author's detailed drawings as much as the description of domestic life in 19th century Japan. Morse originally published this in 1885, barely 30 years after Perry's expedition, and traveled around Japan documenting as many houses and styles as possible (including those of the Aino culture). There are no photographs, but the intricate line drawings and intimate descriptions of functional households -- kitchens and cooking utensils, washing areas, sleeping quarters -- are minutely detailed and thoroughly described in the text. Not just a book for those interested in architecture but history as well.

I bought this book about 3 years ago from Amazon. So you'd think that it would be old hat by now. Yet I find myself picking it up at least once every few months to either refer to it for a construction detail or just to look for something new. What a wonderful resource for traditional Japanese design this book is.

Trained as a Zoologist, Morse put his scientific powers of observation and systematic description to work during the 1880's in producing the sketches and text that describes a world of everyday Japanese design right before it was swamped with Western influence and largely disappeared. There are plenty of books that can show you pictures of ancient Japanese temples and teahouses, but what about the method of constructing the roof of an ordinary 19th century Tokyo home? This was stuff that few people thought was worth recording for posterity. Which is why Morse's book is so unique and valuable to us.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in the way that things are built or designed would do well to put this book on their shelf. Interior decorators, architects, DIY types (such as myself), finish carpenters, contractors and furniture makers should all have a tattered, dog-eared copy of 'Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings' within easy reach. It is a constant source of inspiration.

"Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings" is a great book. If you've any interest in traditional Japanese architecture, get this book. Edward Morse was an American who went to Japan in 1877 to study brachiopods. He ended up recording a vanishing way of life instead. He tells you how Japanese homes were built and why they were built that way. Not much escapes his eye. In serviceable prose and clear drawings, he tells us about carpenters and their tools, houses, furnishings, privies, fences and gateways, water supplies and gardens. Most of it he compares favorably to American and European counterparts.

Best of all, it's a Dover book and cheap.

Several years ago I bought a reprint of Dr. Morse book and it has become not only a treasured Clasic but a Bible of information. Although there are no pictures, none are needed with Dr. Morse drawings and detail descriptions.
E L Smith

Fine this book is back in print even if a scan. I have kept my original(whatever that means) in a safe deposit box. Note is was first published in 1886.


I happened to look it up on Amazon after this comment on WSJ.


I am opposed to cutting professor's salaries. $250 an hour is not excessive for someone who has never actually worked. Look at the dire consequences. I was enjoying my Margarita in the financial district after work last Friday. We were discussing financial derivatives. ( I actually make more on the Shell Game in Golden Gate Park on weekends than wearing a suit in the financial district.) A student from Berkeley felt left out. His question to us was, "What is the average life of a thatched roof in China?" Now most people would answer April 22 the day options on thatch expire on the Ging Deng straw exchange.

I was the winner and had the opportunity of buying the next round. "80 years say I." My first week at the University of Washington, after a year working 55 hour weeks at Boeing, and at International House of Pancakes I was informed of this fact. Actually it was the most interesting thing anyone said that day. It stopped the yakety Sorority girl for about 15 seconds as everyone stared at this wisp of a hippy.

I signed up for 300 level Asian history courses and continued around the world. Yes I did finally get my accounting degree when I was 46. I was not recruited because my Abacus was not as fast on calculating Defined Benefit Plans as the HP 19BII. However I did learn to add so made money working and saving.

Regardless when I was hammering nails in the mountain of Colorado my wife was working in a library and stole a seemingly worthless book that had not been checked out since 1947. It was out of print and she knew I would enjoy it. "Japanese Homes and their Surroundings" by Edward S. Morse. Forget looking on Amazon. It was published in 1886. (x8xx not x9xx) Without this gem I may have confused the Ten-jo with the Dodai-ishi and my house would have been built upside down.

I recently purchased this book as a replacement for a copy which I have owened and used for about thirty years. I have allways found this book to be verry interesting as well as useful in better understanding many basis of Japanise arcitecture. This book was written in the 1880's as essentially a travel study of what was quite exotic at the time. As such much effort was spent to explain many items, as well as being as wello as giving a good effort toward explaining some of the basic ideas which resulted in a design or facets of architectural design.In particularly when basised on cultural lifestyle.
This book will also aid in determining the meaning of a variety of term left unexplained in other books. This is a good read,with much historical information all at a good price..

Wonderful pen and ink sketches of a Japan long-gone, with commentary. Another wonderful student resource as well as a "must have" for anyone interested in pre-westernized Japan daily life. A well thought-of addition to any library!