Week 2: Japan and Japanisme

 Week 2: Japan and Japanisme

Japanese design clearly portrays plainness, naturalness, and minimalism with an attention for minute details. Japanese thought and design have reference to religion. Japanese geography also influenced design. Wood is the main material in Japanese architecture. The common structure of buildings includes rows of columns with thin movable panels, which were made of woodwork, plaster, or rice paper. The framing was orthogonal, and graceful curves are incorporated into column outlines, rafters, and roof brackets. Japanese buildings are made-up of an odd number of bays with fixed relationships of elements and proportional dimensions. The interior areas are divided out freely made by fusumas or moveable screens/panels on tracks made of decoratively painted paper or silk. The size and shape of the rooms are based on tatami floor mats, traditionally made of rice straw or now vinyl flooring. 

Decorative elements are subordinate to the building construction. They embellish the room. The tokonoma or display niche is used for flowers, scrolls, or important artwork. The interior spaces connect to the outdoor space.

Tatami Mats Tokonoma Indoor to Outdoor

The Imperial Village of Katsura from 1663 by architect Kobori Enshu also featured Japanese qualities associated with simplicity, perfection of form, and the spirit of freedom. Modern day architects adopt these qualities from the Katsura, as well. 

Japanese furniture is usually low to the ground because the center of gravity emphasizes the floor. It is movable and flexible so that a room can serve various purposes with a quick change of furniture. Woods were a popular material for furniture. Mostly magnolia, paulownia, zelkova, white mulberry and chestnut are used. Cushions are a common substitute for chairs, specifically the enza, a round cushion. Even more common than an enza now is a square padded cushion called a zabuton or a sashiko. 

Enza Zabuton Sashiko stitching

More furniture:

Japanese folding chair (1940)

Kurodana

Kaidan Tansu (Stairway Chest)

Tray Table (1573-1615)

Magazine rack 

Lighting devices were important to Japanese interior design. Lamps and Lanterns were used, as well as a Hibachi for heating. For decoration, Ikebana or “living flowers” are arranged as art for interiors. Floral arrangement is so important to interior spaces that today there are over 300 schools in Japan dedicated to floral arrangements. Ceramics and textiles are also used for Japanese interior decoration and are important to the culture. Imari is the term for fine porcelain. 

Important artists and designers in Japanese and Anglo-Japanese culture are Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, and Edward Godwin.

Current Applications:

The Schindler House by Rudolph Schindler (1922)

Rural Japanese Interior Design

Commercial Japanese Interior Design

One Step Further:

A modern-day Japanese architect is Josiah Conder. He is considered “the Father of Modern Japanese architecture. His artwork and design often portrayed the government of Japan and the complex power relations between an independent non-Western country and the encroaching Western nations. A museum later showcased many lacquers, bronzers, porcelain, traditional Japanese prints and ink paintings as well as oil paintings of his.