They were considered as guardian angels and wore off evil spirits. The male was placed at one end of the roof and the female at the opposite end. These dolphins were referred to as shachi. The roof of the Japanese castle often had a pair of dolphins made of tile or metal on it. The row at the outer edge always bore the crest of the family that owned or built the castle.( Kirby From Castle to Teahouse p17) Walls, towers and gates were usually topped with rows of inverted and semi-circular overlapping tiles.

The roof of Himeji-jo has closely interlocking roof shapes and these create a constantly changing kaleidoscope of forms, effective for beauty and defence. ( Hinago Japanese Castles p107) Many historians believe that the roof of the Japanese castle was also elaborately decorated for defensive reasons.Īdding gable was seen to add confusion to the enemy, making it difficult for them to determine how many levels there was to the donjon, and how many towers actually existed within the castle grounds. Most Japanese buildings’ roof materials are bamboo, thatch, stone, metal, and tiles. Although they are not the most attractive, they play a key role in buildings. Triangular gable known as chidori hafu 'plover gable' and kara hafu which meaning 'exotic gable', was used. Another prominent part of Japanese architecture is the long and curvy Japanese roofs which you can find in most buildings. Gable was used to decorate the edge of the roof. The roof of the Japanese castle was made a feature of unlike that of its European counterpart. This reduced the possibility of an arrow or bullet going into the castle and allowed the freedom necessary for firing( Nishi and Hazumi What is Japanese Architecture? p99 )

The cross-section of a loophole was hour-glass in shape. A loophole was either a square, circular or triangular hole in the wall used for shooting firearms and/or arrows through. Sama otherwise known as loopholes were a necessary part of the defence system of any Japanese castle. ( Kodansha Encyclopaedia p248)This defence feature was also used frequently in European castles. From these openings the defender could throw stones or boiling water to stop the enemy from scaling up the wall. Ishiotoshi, (stone droppings), were small openings which protruded out from the wall slightly. “Part of the satisfaction with a small space is associated with that cosy feeling of being at home,” Pollock says.CASTLE BUILDING TECHNIQUES AND DESIGNS4 ISHIOTOSHI The small size of the houses is not only a reflection of the great demands made on a limited amount of land, but also a preference for familial contact. This includes tatami flooring, sliding doors, and wooden verandas circling the home. Traditional Japanese homes are called minka, and are often what people picture in their heads when they think of a Japanese style house. … The roof arch comes from the intricately fitted rafters, which were jointed together. Why are Chinese roofs curved?įor example, temple roofs are curved because Buddhists believed that this helped ward off evil spirits, which were believed to assume the form of straight lines. This happens because in summertime, the sun is more directly overhead while in the winter it only gets about 35 degrees above the horizon at noon. In the context of the four divisions of society, Minka were the dwellings of farmers, artisans, and merchants (i.e., the three non-samurai castes).Īsian roofs are gently curved out at the corners in order to allow more light to enter the windows in winter and provide extra shade in the summer. “house of the people”) are vernacular houses constructed in any one of several traditional Japanese building styles. Moreover, the term to describe this architectural style is kawara yane, or literally “tiled roof.” What type of roof in Japan is mostly used in farmer’s houses? In Japanese, these ubiquitous roof tiles are known as kawara and are made from clay. There are generally 3 types called kirizuma-zukuri (gable roof), yosemune-zukuri (hip roof) and irimoya-zukuri (hip-and-gable roof). The roofs of Japanese-style architecture look similar at first glance, but they are different actually.

Japanese architecture is made up of four types of roofs: kirizuma (gabled roof), yosemune (hipped roof), irimoya (hip-and-gable roof), and hogyo (square pyramidal roof). They are important, not only for their attractiveness but for their role in the structure. Why do temples have a unique type of roof because?.What does a traditional Japanese house look like?.Why the roof make so heavily in the old Japanese house?.What type of roof in Japan is mostly used in farmer’s houses?.

Roof japanese