Japanese Houses

Ancient Houses

Japan’s earliest houses were the pit houses synonymous with the Jomon period (before 300 BC). The construction of such houses involved digging a round or rectangular pit in the ground, erecting poles inside it, and fitting a framework for a roof that could be thatched with reeds, grass, or similar plant material. Next, a fireplace was constructed inside for cooking. The pit houses provided a place to sleep that was protected from the elements, each representative of the archetypal houses we live in today. Later, in the Yayoi period (300 BC–250 AD), stilted houses with raised flooring were starting to be constructed in order to provide protection against flooding and vermin.

Minka

Until the Muromachi period (1336–1573), common people lived in pit houses, but from the Kamakura period (1185-1333) onwards, architecture constructed around posts embedded directly into the earth became popular and continued to evolve. Minka, or folk houses, were broadly categorized into noka (farmhouses) and machiya (town houses). Noka were adapted for agricultural work, and typically incorporated an indoor earth-floored area with a kamado cooking range. Stables were constructed alongside. In densely populated districts Machiya were constructed in order to bring living and working quarters together in the same building. Plots were narrow, with a tori-niwa passage leading from the front of the house through to the rear, where living areas and storehouses were situated.

Collective Housing

Japan’s population began to be concentrated into urban areas during the Edo period (1603–1868), a movement which was greatly accelerated by the postwar industrial recovery. As a mountainous country with relatively little flat land, large numbers of collective housing projects were constructed to secure safe living space. Ordinary Japanese people came to live in these homes with standard-size living spaces that were calculated by analyzing typical lifestyles. Today, there are growing efforts to reform the collective housing stock and convert it into spaces suitable for contemporary living.

Single-family Houses

Japanese people also have a strong preference for detached, single-family housing, which means there are many areas with large numbers of similar houses. However, even families that aren’t wealthy are likely to have enlisted an architect to design their house, so there are many unique houses that have been cleverly planned to fit small plots. This is considered to be one of the reasons that Japan is so successful at nurturing talented architects.

Contemporary Houses

Many Japanese architects first distinguish themselves by designing residential houses. After studying architecture independently, Tadao Ando became famous for his Row House in Sumiyoshi, a private residence in Osaka. Similarly, architectural historian Terunobu Fujimori gained a reputation as an architect after designing his own house, the Tanpopo House (Dandelion House). The approach to living implied by houses like these can be as innovative as the architecture. Individual houses such as these can be considered an expression of Japan’s desires for the future.

Huts

The hut was originally considered to be a rough, temporary dwelling, but interest in huts and tiny houses is growing. In addition to highlighting that the minimum necessary living space is actually quite small, the saying that “a person needs only half a tatami mat worth of space when awake, but a full tatami mat when asleep” hints at the dignity of compact living and the concept of honourable poverty. The sense of finding beauty in a minimal space and the pleasure of being in isolation, surrounded by nature, are sentiments which are still valued in Japan today.