Space and Ceremonies in the traditional Japanese house

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In this project I consider the relations between the spaces of the traditional Japanese houses and the ceremonies held in these spaces.In the Shinden-zukuri style residence, the origin of the traditional Japanese house, it was common to use the removable partitions like shoj^3 or shitomi^4 of fixed dividing equipment to enclose the living quarters. Once these partitions were opened or taken away, several rooms were connected and appeared a larger space, while the shitomi being turned upward and hung; the inner space united the outer garden and gained much extensive space. The openness and flexibility of the space is the greatest feature of the Shinden-zukuri residence.However, the fact that such open inner space can not be found anywhere in the tradition of the Japanese domestic house before the Shinden-zukuri tells us it had started from the Shinden-zukuri style. And I suppose its origin would be in the ceremonial building faced to the court in the Japanese ancient palaces that were derived from the Chinese palaces. In the ancient palace, both the main hall and its court were used together for the important ceremonies. The procedure of the ceremonies required the main hall to have smooth unity to the confronting court. Just like this, the close interrelation of house and garden was also recognized in the ceremonies in the Shinden-zukuri residence. So I show many ceremonies in the Shinden-zukuri residences and the traditional Japanese houses and clarify the relations between the spaces of the traditional Japanese houses and the ceremonies in the report published in 2004.