The History of Japanese House, Spatial Characteristics and their Origin

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In this study I am trying to clarify how the traditional Japanese houses has acquired its spatial characters, such as the openness and the flexibility of the space. It has been said by many Japanese scholars that the Japanese hot and wet summer weather made the Japanese houses so open, but the old vernacular houses built before the 17th century were enclosed by the thick mud walls and the space were closed and then poor ventilated. That is, the openness only belongs to the residence of the ruling classes which we call Shinden-Zukuri or Shoin-Zukuri.I propose to bring the two new concepts of " the space surrounded by pillars " and " the space enclosed by walls " into the classification of the Japanese houses. Originally the former space was made in front of the ceremonial garden as a main hall for the ceremony. And to keep the continuity between the inner space and the outer space of the hall, its front side faced to the garden should not have any wall like the loggia in the Italian piazza. In the case of Japan this type of building was introduced from China in the late 7th century, as the main ceremonial hall of the palace. And then the aristocrats had to build their residences as "the space surrounded by pillars" for the sake of the ceremonies in Heian period. For the everyday life, they made small rooms by enclosing this open space with screens, clothes and sliding doors. We call this residential type "Shinden-Zukuri". In Shoin-Zukuri developed from Shiden-Zukuri, most rooms were defined by the sliding doors supported by the upper and the lower rails between the pillars. And in the 18th or 19th century vernacular houses adopted this system to make their rooms.The openness and the flexibility of the traditional Japanese house are the products of the historical progress of Japanese houses.