FAH/REL 15/115: JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE
Instructor: Prof. Ikumi Kaminishi
Office: Department of Art & Art History, 11 Talbot Ave.
Contact: (617) 627-2424 or [email protected]
Office hours: Wednesdays 2:00–4:00 pm or by appointment
Fall 2016
Room: AIDECKMAN 9
Time: Tu/Th. 4:30-5:45 pm
Description of the Course:
This course explores the concepts of nature, time, and space in Japan, using major architectural
traditions. Emphasis is not only on the styles of Japanese architecture, but also on historical contexts
that are part of the whole plan. First we examine the aesthetic and philosophical concepts of time
and space (ma, in Japanese). Then we explore various actual sites and monuments. Finally we
reconsider the stereotypical images of Japanese culture that architecture helped build in the West.
The material covers from pre-Buddhist times to the contemporary age, which includes religious
institutions (Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples), aristocratic residences, teahouses and gardens,
and modern buildings.
Learning Objectives:
 To familiarize with visual arts and cultures of Japan
 To develop an ability to analyze, interpret, and write on visual works of art
 To learn to contextualize cultural and historical significance of Japanese architecture
 Critical thinking ability in response to scholarly literature
Expectations:
 Learn history, concepts, and culture of Japanese art and architecture
 Clear writing skill
 Academic research skill
 Timely completion of assignments. (Late papers will be downgraded by a third of a full
grade each day.)
 Collaboration toward timely group work
 Mandatory class attendance
Distribution of Grading:
1. Two exams: Midterm (20%) and Final (30%): Total 50%
The tests will be on the material covered in lectures and readings. Students are responsible
for the terms, names, and dates of the images of monuments shown in class.
2. A short paper (2-3 pages) (25%)
Study of the concept “ma (time/space)” in the film Double Suicide.
3. Group project: teahouse design presentation (10%)
a. Design a teahouse on Tufts campus
b. Present the plan in class
c. Q &A
4. Paper on the group project theme (2 pages) (15%)
a. Compare your design with a well-known teahouse/garden in Japanese history
Other helpful external websites
1. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
“South and Southeast Asia” and “East Asia”
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/world-regions/#/06/World-Map
2.
“The John C. and Susan L. Huntington Photographic Archive of Buddhist and Asian Art”
http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/index.php
3.
A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization Prepared by Patricia Buckley Ebrey
http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/index.htm
4.
A to Z Photo Dictionary: Japanese Buddhist Statuary (You may look up this site but all the
facts must be double-checked with academic sources before citing in papers)
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/buddhism.shtml
Online sources through TISCH Library online database
2
1. ARTSTOR (image database)
2. JSTOR (scholarly articles)
3. OXFORD ART ONLINE (art history dictionary/encyclopedia)
Books on Tisch Library Reserve
SB458 .B4713 2000
NA9050.5 .C63 1996
N8193.3.P8 F8413
CT2910 .H338 1979
Berthier, François
Coaldrake, William
Fukuyama, Toshio
Hayahira, Seizo
Reading Zen in the rocks
Architecture and Authority in Japan
Heian Temples: Byodoin & Chusonji
Chanoyu: Japanese Tea Ceremony
SB458 .H3813
Hayakawa, Masao
The Garden Art of Japan
N7353.4 .J39 1996
DS881.9 .H87
NA1537.I5313 1998
NA7758.K94 K38
NA1559.I79 I8 1996
ND2071 .K3513
NA1553 .K5
N7350 .M26 1993
NC1764.5.J3 J37
Hickman, Money, ed.
Hunter, Janet
Inaji, Toshiro
Isozaki, Arata et. al.
Isozaki, Arata
Kanazawa, Hiroshi
Kirby, John B.
Mason, Penelope
MacWilliams, Mark
Japan’s Golden Age
The Emergence of Modern Japan
Garden as architecture (Teien to jukyo...)
Katsura imperial villa
The island nation aesthetic
Early Zen Masterpieces
From castle to teahouse
History of Japanese Art
Japanese visual culture
NC1766.J32 M5736
NA1550 .N87 2004
N7350 .P3 1981
NE1325.K3 A4
SB458 .S66 1987
McCarthy, Helen
Nute, Kevin
Paine & Soper
Asian Art Mus., SF
Slawson, David
Hayao Miyazaki
Place, time, and being in Japanese Architecture
The art and architecture of Japan
Hokusai and Hiroshige
Secret Teachings in Art of Japanese Gardens
NA6053.2 .S8913
SB458 .T334 2001
ND2071.T313
DS821.V36
(PDF copy)
Suzuki, Kakichi
Takei, Jiro
Tanaka, Ichimatsu
Varley, Paul
Isozaki, Arata, et. al.
Early Buddhist architecture in Japan
Sakuteiki
Shubun to Sesshu
Japanese Culture
Ma. (Exhibition catalogue; copy on TRUNK)
3
‘ SCHEDULE (Subject to change) [Read the assigned readings before class.]
Part I.
9/6
Concept of Space and Time (ma): Sacred Places
Introduction
Topic:
Nature, material, climate
Peruse: Nishi&Hozumi (N&H): What is Japanese Architecture?: 54-55.
9/8
Topic:
Ise: Making of Sacred Shrine
Read:
1. Coaldrake, William. “Ise Jingu.” In Asian Art. Eds. by Brown and
Hutton. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. [PDF ON TRUNK]
2. Nishi&Hozumi (N&H): What is Japanese Architecture?: 7-13, 40-43.
9/13
9/15
Topic:
“ma” Time and Space, and Introduction of Buddhism
Read:
Isozaki, Arata. Exhibition catalogue, MA. [PDF on TRUNK]
Topic:
Early Buddhist Architecture: Horyuji
Read:
1. N&H. What is Japanese Architecture?: 14-17 and 36-39.
2. Paine & Soper, Japanese Art and Architecture, “Chap. 18, Buddhist
Architecture” [PDF on TRUNK]
Recommended: Mason, History of Japanese Art, 33-51.
9/20
Topic: Temples of Nara: Yakushiji and Tōdaiji
Read: 2. Kenneth Dauber, “Object, Genre, and Buddhist Sculpture,” Theory and
Society, Vol. 21, No. 4 (1992): 561-592. [JSTOR]
9/22
9/27
Topic:
Pure Land on earth: Phoenix Hall
Read:
Yiengpruksawan, Mimi. “The Phoenix Hall at Uji and the Symmetries of
Replication” The Art Bulletin, V. 77, No. 4 (1995): 647-672. [JSTOR]
Topic:
What is “ma”?
Read:
1. Isozaki, Arata. Exhibition catalogue, MA. [PDF on TRUNK]
Recommended: Nute, Kevin. Place, time, and being..., chapter 1; and2. Pilgrim,
Richard. “Intervals (“MA”) in Space and Time,” History of Religions, Vol.
25, No. 3 (1986): 255-277. [JSTOR]
4
9/29
Homework discussion on ma and the film Double Suicide (assignment TBA)
Film: Double Suicide (1969), directed by Masahiro Shinoda
http://tufts.kanopystreaming.com/s?query=shinoda

Read: Heine, Steven. “Tragedy and Salvation in the Floating World:
Chikamatsu’s Double Suicide Drama as Millenarian Discourse.” The Journal of
Asian Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2 (1994): 367-393.
PART II. Passage of time: Gardens for Zen and Tea
10/4
Topic:
Zen temples and gardens
Read:
1. N&H, 22-33; 106-119.
2. Donald Keene. “Japanese Aesthetics,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 9,
No. 3 (1969), 293-306. [JSTOR]
3. Takei, Teiji. Sakuteiki [TISCH RESERVE]
10/6
PAPER (on ma) DUE by 5:00 pm on Trunk
Topic: Shoin zukuri: The Tearoom of Silver Pavilion
Read:
1. Ito, Teiji. “The Development of Shoin-Style Architecture,” in Hall, John
and Takeshi, Toyoda, eds. Japan in the Muromachi Age. [PDF on
TRUNK]
Recommended: Kondo, Dorinne. “The Way of Tea.” Man, New series, Vol. 20, No.
2 (19850, 287-306. [JSTOR]; and François Berthier, Reading Zen in the Rocks.
10/11
Topic:
Sukiya zukuri: Katsura Detached Palace
Read:
1. Nishi&Hozumi, 78-81, 106, and 132-135.
2. Gropius, Walter. “Architecture in Japan.” Perspecta, Vol. 3 (1955): 9-80.
[JSTOR]
Recommended: Arata Isozaki et. al. Katsura imperial villa
10/13
MID-TERM EXAM
10/18
Tea ceremony demonstration (Alumni Lounge)
10/20
More teahouses. . .
Group meeting.
5
PART III. Architecture and Political Power
10/25
Topic:
Samurai castles
Read:
1. Takayanagi, Shun’ichi. “Review: The Glory That was Azuchi,”
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 32, No. 4 (1977): 515-524. [JSTOR]
2. Gerhart, Karen. “Issues of Talent and Training in the SeventeenthCentury Kano Wrokshop.” Ars Orientalis, Vol. 31 (2001): 103-128.
10/27, 11/1
Topic: Architecture for the new monarch
Read:
1. Coaldrake, “Building the Meiji State,” Architecture and Authority, 208150. [PDF on TRUNK]
2. Wendelken, Cherie. “The Techtonics of Japanese Style,” Art Journal,
Vol. 55, No. 3, Japan 1868-1945 (1996): 28-37. [JSTOR]
Recommended:
1. Dallas Finn, Meiji Revisited
2. Castle. Modernism and modernization in architecture
11/3
Topic: Topic: Modern Architecture and early Tange Kenzo
Read:
1. Coaldrake. Architecture and Authority in Japan PP. 251-277. [PDF on
TRUNK]
2. Reynolds, Jonathan. “Ise Shrine and a Modernist Construction of
Japanese Tradition.” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 83, No. 2 (2001): 316-341.
[JSTOR]
11/8
No class; Friday Schedule
11/10, 15, 17 Group presentations of teahouse designs
PART IV. Architecture and Modernity
11/22
Class cancelled; Teahouse Project Individual Paper Due Online (TRUNK)
11/24
Thanksgiving Day: no class
6
11/29
12/1
Topic:
Later Tange Kenzo and his students
Read:
1. Petit, Emmanuel. “Incubation and Decay: Arata Isozaki’s Architectural
Poetics—Metabolism’s Dialogical ‘Other’.” Perspecta, Vol. 30 (2008):
152-163. [JSTOR]
Topic: Contemporary Architecture: Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito, and Shigeru Ban
Read:
1. Takeyama, Kiyoshi. “Tadao Ando: Heir to a Tradition.” Perspecta, Vol.
20 (1983), 163-180 [JSTOR]
2. Ban, Shigeru and Kartikeya Shodhan. “Paper-tube Housing.” Perspecta,
Vol. 34 (2003): 154-55+158-159.
12/6
Review
12/8
Post-midterm EXAM
APENDIX
CHRONOLOGY
10,500-300 BCE
300 BCE-300 CE
Prehistoric
300 - 710 C.E.
552 - 645
Ancient
645 - 794
794 - 1185
Classical
1185 - 1333
1333 - 1573
Medieval
1573 - 1615
Early modern 1615 - 1868
1868 - 1912
1912 - 1926
Modern
1926 - 1989
Contemporary 1989 - present
Jomon Period
Yayoi Period
Kofun Period
Asuka Period
Nara Period
Heian Period
Kamakura Period
Muromachi Period
Momoyama Period
Edo Period
Meiji Period
Taisho Period
Showa Period
Heisei Period
Imperial; Buddhist introduction
Imperial
Imperial; present-day Kyoto
Minamoto Shogunate in Kamakura
Ashikaga Shogunate in Muromachi
Warring states
Tokugawa Shogunate in now Tokyo
Emperor Meiji; capital Tokyo
“Contemporary” since 1945
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