Customer Reviews

What Is Japanese Architecture?

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I've been searching for a book such as this for quite some time. I purchased this book as source material for 3D modeling, and all the hand drawn illustrations are simply amazing! Many interior, exterior and close-up shots of Japanese architecture. Several floor plans and isometric views of various homes and temples.

Having only recieved my book the day before, I have not had a chance to read it from cover to cover, but what I have read was informative and well written. While you may not be able to build your very own "to code" Japanese home with this book, as a source of information and inspiration, it's a tremendous book!

I'm a big fan of this book. Inside the front cover is an excellent map of Japan that shows the locations of all the temples, castles, houses, gardens, etc covered in the book, which is also a boon for planning travel. Inside the back cover is a very helpful chronology of the architecture from 10,000BC to 1868.

Even though all the illustrations are hand drawn b/w, they offer excellent detail. There are city plans and numerous architectural schematics. The book is divided in to 4 sections:

1) Worship: The Architecture of Buddhist & Shinto Shrines
2) Daily Life: Residential & Urban Architecture
3) Battle: Castles & Castle Towns
4) Entertainment: Architecture in the Sukiya Spirit (philosophy of restraint, simplicity, & refinement)

Within the 4 chapters are 60 sub-chapters. In the back there are some helpful sections like directions to the sites in the book, a short list of museums, and a good bibliography for additional reading.

I liked the section on Kanazawa, and recommend people visit there to experience one of the few remaining castle towns. Overall and excellent book.

This book offers a great introduction to Japanese traditional architecture in all its fields, from castles to temples, palaces and houses.
There are chapters even on ancient cities, gardens, tea houses and much more.
The book is wonderfully illustrated with technical (but not only) drawings, that can really make you understand how something was realized.
A must for everyone who want to learn something on Japanese architecture without buy something too much technical.

Very nicely illustrated & well written. Includes many detail drawings. Covers Temples, Shrines, Palaces, Castles ordinary residences, Teahouses, etc. Includes background, construction techniques, design, carpentry etc. Over 300 illust.

This is a good guide to Japanse architecture and it's styles. It contains many illustrations, and is a detailed description on types of Traditional Japanese architecture.