When you first see the inside of a Japanese home, what is most striking is the complete absence of any furniture.
All you see is the exposed wood of the support posts and rafters, the ceiling of planed boards, the shoji latticework, the rice paper of which softly diffuses the light coming from outside. Under your bare feet, tatami springs slightly - hard, three fingers thick mats of quilted straw mats. The floor, made up of these golden rectangles, is completely empty. The walls are also empty.
There are no decorations anywhere, except for a niche where a scroll with a painting or a calligraphed poem hangs, and under it there is a vase of flowers: ikebana.
One thing is certain: traditional japanese house in many ways anticipated the innovations of modern architecture. Frame foundations and sliding walls have only recently gained recognition among builders, while removable partitions and replaceable floors are still a thing of the future.
A Japanese house is designed for summer.
His interior spaces really well ventilated during humid heat. However, the dignity of a traditional Japanese home is reversed when it is equally desperately drafted in winter. And the cold here makes itself felt from November to March.
The Japanese seem to have come to terms with the fact that it is always cold in the house in winter. They are content to warm their hands or feet, without even thinking about heating the room itself. We can say that in the tradition of Japanese housing there is no heating, but heating.
Only when you feel with your skin in a Japanese house what does its closeness to nature mean on winter days, do you truly understand the meaning of the Japanese bathhouse - furo: this is the main type of self-heating.
IN Everyday life Every Japanese, regardless of his position and income, has no greater joy than soaking in a deep wooden vat filled with incredibly hot water.
In winter, this is the only opportunity to truly warm up. You need to get into the furo after first washing yourself out of the gang, like in a Russian bathhouse, and rinsing thoroughly. Only after this do the Japanese plunge up to their necks into hot water, pull their knees up to their chin and blissfully remain in this position for as long as possible, steaming their body until it turns crimson red.
In winter, after such a bath, you don’t feel a draft for the whole evening, from which even the picture on the wall sways. In summer it provides relief from the sweltering humid heat.
The Japanese are accustomed to bask in furo, if not every day, then at least every other day.
So much misfortune hot water per person would be an unaffordable luxury for most families. Hence the custom of washing from the gang so that the vat remains clean for the whole family. In villages, neighbors take turns heating furo to save on firewood and water.
For the same reason, public baths are still widespread in cities. They traditionally serve as the main place of communication. After exchanging news and gaining some warmth, the neighbors disperse to their unheated homes.
IN summer time When it is very hot and humid in Japan, the walls move apart to allow the house to be ventilated. In winter, when it gets colder, the walls are moved to create small interior rooms that can be easily heated with braziers.
Gender traditional Japanese house covered with tatami - square straw mats. The area of one tatami is about 1.5 square meters. m. The area of a room is measured by the number of tatami mats that fit in it. The tatami mats are cleaned and replaced periodically.
In order not to stain the floor, in traditional Japanese houses they do not wear shoes - only white tabi socks. Shoes are left at the entrance to the house on a special step - genkan (it is placed below floor level).
They sleep in traditional Japanese houses on mattresses - futons, which are put away in the closet in the morning - oshi-ire. The bedding set also includes a pillow (previously a small log was often used as such) and a blanket.
They eat in such houses, sitting on futons. Small table with food is placed in front of each of the eaters.
One of the rooms of the house must have an alcove - tokonoma. This recess contains objects of art that are in the house (graphics, calligraphy, ikebana), as well as cult accessories - statues of gods, photographs of deceased parents, and so on.
Why is the Japanese house a phenomenon? Because its very nature goes against our usual concept of home.
Where, for example, does construction begin? an ordinary house? Of course, from the foundation, on which strong walls and a reliable roof are then erected. In a Japanese home, everything is done the other way around. Of course, it does not start from the roof, but it also does not have a foundation as such.
When building a traditional Japanese house, the factors of a possible earthquake, hot and extremely humid summer are taken into account. Therefore, it is basically a construction of wooden columns and roofs. The wide roof protects from the scorching sun, and the simplicity and lightness of the structure allows the damaged house to be quickly reassembled in case of destruction. The walls in a Japanese house are just filling the gaps between the columns.
Usually only one of the four walls is permanent, the rest consist of movable panels various densities and textures that play the role of walls, doors and windows.
Yes, in a classic Japanese house there are no windows that we are used to!
The outer walls of the house are replaced by shoji - these are wooden or bamboo frames made of thin slats assembled like a lattice. The spaces between the slats used to be covered with thick paper (most often rice paper) and partially covered with wood.
Over time, more technologically advanced materials and glass began to be used. Thin walls move on special hinges and can serve as doors and windows. During the hottest part of the day, the shoji can generally be removed, and the house will receive natural ventilation.
The interior walls of a Japanese house are even more conventional. They are replaced by fusums - lungs wooden frames, pasted on both sides with thick paper. They divide their home into separate rooms, and if necessary they are moved apart or removed, forming a single large space. In addition, the interior spaces are separated by screens or curtains.
Such “mobility” of a Japanese house gives its inhabitants unlimited possibilities in planning - according to needs and circumstances.
The floor in a Japanese house is traditionally made of wood and rises at least 50 cm above the ground. This provides some ventilation from below. Wood heats up less in hot weather and cools down longer in winter; moreover, it is safer during an earthquake than, for example, masonry.
A European person entering a Japanese home has the feeling that this is just the scenery for a theatrical production. How can you live in a house that has practically paper walls? But what about “my home is my castle”? Which door should be bolted? Which windows should I hang curtains on? And which wall should you put the massive cabinet on?
In a Japanese home, you will have to forget about stereotypes and try to think in other categories. For for the Japanese, what is important is not “stone” protection from the outside world, but the harmony of the inner.
Individual residential construction in Japan is based on the principles of minimalism (almost asceticism) and closeness to nature. They have remained unchanged for many centuries, unlike the technology of building houses. IN traditional solutions make adjustments modern technologies and living conditions.
Traditional Japanese house
The traditional Japanese house (minka) in what is now Japan is represented by only a few museums. However, these buildings, although they are actually a thing of the past, are an integral part of the architecture and culture of this country.
An excursion into the history of Japanese houses
Traditional houses are simple one- or two-story frame buildings made of wood, paper, straw, clay, bamboo. The higher the status of a resident of the country, the more expensive the materials were used, the brighter the facade was decorated. It is the elements of rich houses and temples that make the Japanese style in architecture recognizable.
Technology frame construction has long been used in earthquake-prone Japan. The buildings erected on it were characterized by increased stability, gave a chance of survival in the event of a collapse, and they could be quickly restored.
On architectural features Japanese frame work was also influenced by the climatic conditions of the country. On most islands of the Japanese archipelago, winter is quite mild. Along with the idea of closeness to nature, this determined the design of the walls.
In traditional Japanese houses there was only one blank wall, where the space between the supports was filled with grass and covered with clay. The rest were sliding or removable panels made of light wooden frame covered with rice paper. The frame did not suffer from their removal and the integrity of the structure was not compromised. At the same time, the house was well illuminated by the sun, and the boundary between it and nature was erased.
Design features of houses
Japanese frames, which were built decades and centuries ago, were very different from modern houses. They were characterized by the following features:
- The frame of a house is a system of supports and beams connected without nails. They used them instead complex technology cutting beams, logs.
- The center of the building is a pillar resistant to earthquakes.
- The roof is two- or four-slope. Protrudes beyond the external walls at a distance of up to one meter. This protects the façade from exposure to precipitation and sunlight.
- Raised on half a meter from the ground floor level. This was done in order to provide ventilation to the lower tier of the building and retain heat during the cold season. For Japanese people who sleep on a mattress instead of a regular bed, this is important.
Traditional Japanese houses were far ahead of their time. Basic Ideas Their construction forms the basis of modern frame technologies. One of them is naturally called “Japanese”.
Interior of a traditional house
In traditional Japanese houses there were no clear divisions into rooms. The most free, open space could be transformed at will with the help of light fusuma screens. So, large room where guests were received during the day, in the evening they were divided into a bedroom and a study using screens.
With such mobility, there was no talk of large, heavy furniture. Instead of cabinets for storing clothes and household items, we used:
- niches disguised by the same screens;
- baskets;
- chests;
- wicker boxes;
- low cabinets with drawers.
The mattress served as a sleeping place futon, and the floors were covered with hard straw mats - tatami.
The dining room, kitchen, and utility rooms were equipped in close proximity to the large clay oven.
The finishing materials were: thick white paper, wooden boards, plaster. The twilight of the rooms was slightly diluted by a lamp in a paper lampshade, called an okiandon.
Modern Japanese house
Modern Japanese houses in the individual housing sector are also being built according to frame technologies. However, on their appearance influence fashion trends and the use of the latest façade materials.
Frame construction in Japanese
A modern Japanese house almost always looks like a European one. But you can recognize it by its laconic, smooth surface external walls; abundance of light-transmitting glass; clear geometric shapes.
The characteristic idea of closeness to nature is embodied in the form of terraces and balconies with a glass parapet.
In the construction of modern frame houses The following features can be distinguished in Japan:
- The foundation is a monolithic “insulated Swedish slab”, which general view is a “pie” made of insulation and a layer of concrete on it.
- Gender, as in traditional house, raised above ground level. Only now they do it by mounting it on foundation slab concrete “ribs” 50 cm high.
- External walls are insulated with sprayed polyurethane foam.
- On the warmest islands, as in traditional buildings, there is no central heating. It is being replaced by infrared panels, electric and gas heaters.
Beautiful house in Japanese style today is a unique intricacy of traditions and the results of scientific and technological progress.
Evolution of the interior - what has changed
In the last 30-40 years, the Japanese way of life has changed. The interior has also changed residential buildings. It has become more European. Due to this:
- The area of premises for household needs has been reduced.
- Rooms have become personal spaces with a clearly defined functional purpose.
- Appeared high furniture on legs.
- The rooms are divided into “Western” (in the center of the house) and “Japanese” (in the depths of the building), where the interior is kept strictly in the traditional style.
- Tatami is being replaced by modern floor coverings, since they cannot withstand the load from furniture on legs.
- Dark wood in the interior gives way to light wood, and plaster gives way to wallpaper with a similar texture. the principle of minimalism, environmental friendliness and closeness to nature.
You can build a residential building or decorate its rooms in the classic Japanese style if you were born in Japan and the culture of this country is not alien to you. Otherwise, style the space as open as possible with accent pieces, from decor to furniture.
Video: traditional Japanese house
“My home is my castle,” the British say, and we have recently been switching to Euro windows and doors, as a result of which dust, noise and noise do not enter our apartments from the street. And also the singing of birds, the squeak of a mosquito and the croaking of frogs. That is, in our apartments we are completely fenced off from the outside world. Modern people strive for high tightness and thermal insulation of their homes. The trend is the same in Japanese cities, but in the old days everything was different. The traditional Japanese house assumed close integration of the home with external environment. For this, the Japanese used sliding windows and doors, lattice walls. With this approach, external and inner space fully integrated, that is, the garden is a continuation of the home. And vice versa - the house is a continuation of the garden or park. Ideally, a Japanese house should have only a ceiling and pillars holding it up; there are no windows or doors in our understanding; in each room, three out of four walls can be moved apart or removed altogether at any time. If easy to remove from grooves sliding doors serve as external walls, they are covered with white rice paper, this is an analogue of our windows, they are called shoji(shoji). If sliding doors divide interior spaces and serve as doors, then they are covered with thick colored paper and are called fusuma(fusuma). And finally, there are still heavy external doors amado(Amado), this word literally means "rain doors." These doors protect the house from wind, rain, typhoon and more. In cold rainy weather, a row was placed in front of the shoji at night wooden shields Amado, they were tightly adjacent to each other. The outermost amado was locked with a deadbolt lock. When the amado was not needed, they were put away in a special box made at the edge of the wall. Or they lifted it up and hooked it on special hooks. Nowadays, more and more amados are made in the form of a sliding door, which opens like a wardrobe, that is, it slides on special grooves.
The sliding walls of a Japanese house are a wooden lattice frame covered with thick oiled paper; they are very convenient and functional, they allow you to save space in the apartment, visually increasing the space. There are no big differences between sliding doors and partitions. The main difference in terms is that if a doorway is closed, then it is a fusuma door, if a whole room or a very large opening is blocked, then it is sliding partition shoji. Peculiarities Japanese interior are directly related to natural climatic conditions; in summer in Japan it is hot and humid, therefore traditional houses They are built with the expectation that a light breeze will blow through them. It is for this reason that some walls in the rooms are sliding doors. They can be easily opened to ventilate the room, or closed to escape a draft. Shoji can be removed completely to turn two small rooms into one large one. In a Japanese house there are no sofas, armchairs, chairs, tables, wardrobes, bookshelves, and beds. The walls are also empty, there are no decorations, except for a niche with a scroll with some image kakemono, and a vase of flowers is placed under it. A Japanese house has exposed wood support posts and rafters, a planked board ceiling, and shoji latticework covered with rice paper. On the tatami floor are hard, three fingers thick mats made of quilted straw mats. In good weather or after the end of the rainy season, when it is necessary to ventilate household belongings, the panels are moved to the side or, if necessary, completely removed. Then the house swings outwards, and its interior becomes part of the surrounding space. If the Japanese want to enjoy the beauty of a garden or watch the falling snow in winter, they expand the shoji. This type of shoji is appropriately called yukimi shoji, that is, shoji for admiring snow. And in bad, cold weather, the shoji are installed in place, creating a cozy microworld inside.
All elements of the house, including pillars, tatami, partitions, and so on, were built from strictly standardized parts. In the event of a fire, earthquake or other natural disaster, a destroyed house could be restored in a couple of days, using preserved or newly purchased standardized spare parts - panels, pillars, floor mats, which fit exactly in the place of their predecessors. The traditional Japanese house in many ways anticipated the innovations of modern architecture; its frame base and sliding walls have only recently received recognition from the world's leading architects, and I think removable partitions and replaceable floors will be in demand in the future.
Amado exterior doors are clearly visible on houses
The Japanese traditional house has an unusual name. It sounds like a mink. Translated, this word means “house of people.” Today in the Land of the Rising Sun such a structure can only be found in rural areas.
Types of Japanese houses
In ancient times, the word “minka” was used to describe peasant dwellings in the Land of the Rising Sun. The same houses belonged to traders and artisans, that is, that part of the population that was not samurai. However, today there is no class division in society, and the word "minka" is applied to any traditional Japanese houses that are of appropriate age. Such dwellings, located in areas with different climatic and geographical conditions, come in a fairly wide range of sizes and styles.
But be that as it may, all minks are divided into two types. The first of them includes They are also called noka. The second type of minka is town houses (matiya). There is also a subclass of noka - a Japanese fisherman's house. What is the name of such a dwelling? This village houses gyouka.
Mink device
Traditional Japanese houses are very original structures. Basically they are a canopy that sits over an empty space. The roof of the mink rests on a frame made of rafters.
Japanese houses, as we understand them, have neither windows nor doors. Each room has three walls, which are light doors that can be removed from their grooves. They can always be moved or removed. These walls act as windows. The owners cover them with white, tissue-like rice paper and call them shoji.
A characteristic feature of Japanese houses is their roofs. They look like the hands of a praying person and converge at an angle of sixty degrees. The external association that mink roofs evoke is reflected in their name. It sounds like gassho-zukuri, which means folded hands.
Traditional Japanese houses that have survived to this day are historical monuments. Some of them are protected by the national government or local municipalities. Some of the buildings are included in the list of objects World Heritage UNESCO.
Materials of main structures
The peasants could not afford to build expensive houses. They used the materials that were most accessible and cheap. Minka was built from bamboo and wood, clay and straw. Various types of herbs were also used.
Wood was usually used to make the “skeleton” of the house and the roof. For external walls bamboo and clay were taken. The internal ones were replaced by sliding partitions or screens. Straw and grass were used to construct the roof. Sometimes on top of these natural materials they laid out tiles made from baked clay.
The stone served to strengthen or create a foundation. However, this material was not used in the construction of the house itself.
Minka is a Japanese house, the architecture of which is traditional for the Land of the Rising Sun. The supports in it form the “skeleton” of the structure and are cleverly connected to the transverse beams without the use of nails. The openings in the walls of the house are shoji, or heavy wooden doors.
Roof construction
Gassho-zukuri have the tallest and most recognizable Japanese houses. And their amazing roofs give them this feature. Their height allowed residents to do without a chimney. In addition, it involved the arrangement of extensive storage space in the attic.
The high roof of the Japanese house reliably protected the minka from precipitation. Rain and snow, without lying around, immediately rolled down. This design feature prevented moisture from entering the room and rotting the straw from which the roof was made.
Mink roofs are classified according to various types. In matiya, for example, they are usually gabled, gabled, covered with tiles or shingles. The roofs of most Nok village houses were different from them. They were usually covered with straw and sloped on four sides. Special caps were installed on and also in those places where different sections were joined.
Home interior decoration
Minka, as a rule, consisted of two sections. In one of them there was a This territory was called home. In the second section, the floor was raised above the level of the home by half a meter.
The first room was where food was prepared. Barrels for food were placed here, wooden washbasin and water jugs.
The room had a built-in fireplace with a raised floor. The smoke from the fire lit in it went under the roof and did not disturb the residents of the house at all.
What impression does a Japanese house make on European tourists? Reviews from those who first got inside the mink speak of the surprise that the complete lack of furniture caused them. Only nudes are visible to visitors wooden parts housing structures. This support pillars and rafters, planed ceiling boards and shoji latticework that softly diffuse sunlight via The floor is completely empty, covered with straw mats. There are no decorations on the walls either. The only exception is a niche in which there is a painting or a scroll with a poem, under which there is a vase with a bouquet of flowers.
To a European person who finds himself in a Japanese house, it seems that this is not a home, but just a backdrop for some kind of theatrical production. Here we have to forget about existing stereotypes and understand that home is not a fortress, but something that allows you to feel harmony with nature and your inner world.
Centuries-old tradition
For residents of the East, tea drinking plays an important role in social and spiritual life. In Japan, this tradition is a strictly scheduled ritual. It involves the person who brews and then pours the tea (the master), as well as guests who drink this amazing drink. This ritual originated in the Middle Ages. However, it is still part of Japanese culture today.
Tea house
The Japanese used separate structures to hold the tea ceremony. Guests of honor were received in the tea house. The main principles of this building were simplicity and naturalness. This made it possible to conduct a ceremony of drinking an aromatic drink, moving away from all earthly temptations.
Which design features have Japanese tea houses? They consist of one single room, accessible only through a low and narrow passage. To enter the house, visitors have to bow deeply. This has a certain meaning. After all, all people had to bow low before the ceremony, even those who had a high social position. In addition, the low entrance did not allow anyone to enter the tea house with weapons in former times. The samurai had to leave it in front of the door. It also forced the person to concentrate as much as possible on the ceremony.
The architecture of the tea house provided for the presence of a large number of windows (from six to eight), which had different shape and size. High location openings indicated their main purpose - to let in sunlight. Guests could admire the surrounding nature only if the owners opened the frames. However, as a rule, the windows were closed during the tea drinking ritual.
Interior of a tea house
The room for the traditional ceremony had nothing superfluous. Its walls were finished with gray clay, which, reflecting sunlight, created a feeling of being in the shade and tranquility. The floor was certainly covered with tatami. Most important part The house served as a niche made in the wall (tokonoma). A censer with incense and flowers were placed in it. There was also a scroll with sayings that were selected by the master for each specific case. There were no other decorations in the tea house. In the very center of the room there was a bronze hearth, on which an aromatic drink was prepared.
For fans of tea ceremonies
If desired, on summer cottages Japanese houses can be built with your own hands. A gazebo made in the architectural style of the Land of the Rising Sun is also suitable for leisurely ceremonies. The main thing that must be taken into account is the impossibility of using some traditional oriental materials. This applies in particular to partitions. It will not be possible to use oiled paper for them.
It is advisable to make a house in the Japanese style from wood, using it for decoration a natural stone, fiberglass and gratings. Bamboo blinds would be appropriate here. This material symbolizes success in Japanese culture, fast growth, vitality and good luck.
When making a gazebo or house, you should not use a wide color scheme. The structure must be in harmony with nature and merge with it. It is advisable to plant a mountain pine tree not far from the entrance. The real decoration of the building will be the water surface, stone lantern, bamboo fence and rock garden. Without this landscape, it is difficult to imagine a Japanese-style tea ceremony. The simplicity and unpretentiousness of the environment will create true tranquility. It will allow you to forget about earthly temptations and give you the highest feeling of beauty. And this will help a person approach understanding reality from new, philosophical positions.
In her magazine you can find a lot of interesting things about Japan, Japanese life and other travels.
Living in an old Japanese house is an unforgettable experience. Everything is according to traditions: genkan, washitsu, fusuma, shoji, tatami, zabuton, futon, oshiire. There is even a kamidana. With simenawa and side, as expected. I photographed everything, everything, and made a short video. I invite you on a tour.
Genkan - Japanese hallway. Shoes must be removed in this area. According to the rules, you should turn your shoes towards the door. You need to step on the hill barefoot.
Traditional men's shoes, perhaps this is an option geta
A room in a traditional Japanese style is called washitsu. The space is divided using internal sliding walls fusuma. Frames and gratings are made of wood, outer side covered with opaque rice paper. Partitions separating living quarters from the veranda are called shoji. They use rice paper that transmits light.
Kamidana is a niche for kami. A small Shinto shrine, similar to the home altar in Russian huts. Shimenawa- literally “fencing rope”, denotes sacred space. The white zigzag stripes are called shide. Kami are Japanese deities and spirits.
There is no central heating. You can turn on the air conditioner, if there is one in the house, or the floor heater. Judging by the smell, the heater is gas catalytic, so it is better not to use it. Heating a house with air conditioning is expensive, so they solve the problem locally. Comes to understand the beauty of the Japanese bath ofuro. It’s small in area, you can’t stretch your legs, but the water doesn’t cool down for a long time, and it’s deep, with only your head outside. The owner carefully left the hot water bottles. Electric sheets are also widely used. There is also special devices - kotatsu, .
A futon is a thick, soft mattress spread out at night for sleeping. In the morning he cleans the closet. The cabinet is called oshiire.
In the warm season, the corridor around the perimeter of the house is combined with the garden. The walls simply move, and at the same time it becomes cooler. IN in this case traditional shoji replaced with modern glazing.
Doors are usually decorated with paintings. Please note that the image is shifted to the bottom because it is designed for a seated person. In a Japanese house it is generally not customary to stand upright, so he moved from place to place and sat down on his knees again. The pose is called seiza, literally “correct sitting.”
In the living room there is a European sofa and a Japanese table with low legs. A flat pillow is called zabuton. They are used for sitting on the floor or on chairs. Although Japanese chairs are actually a seat with a back.
The kitchen is located outside the house, it is more of a terrace. There is a rice cooker, a microwave, something like a grill, a stove and a refrigerator. A lot of dishes.
The washing machine is just huge
Since the main space of the house is located on a hill, you can arrange a storage room. Underground, like ours.
The window overlooks the garden
This is Voneten Guest House on the island of Izu-Oshima, located in the town of Habuminato, in general a village - https://naviaddress.com/81/700037. I booked the house on Booking. The owner is sociable and hospitable. I met him at the bus stop, took him to the supermarket, launched my drone, and shot a video as a souvenir. It was great. Port Habu is a quiet place, the best experience.
Japanese cat Anko. Well-mannered, she doesn’t go into the house. Even if the door is open, he sits outside.
At the end of the video, a tour of the house.
