The Historical Development of Japanese Capital Cities, their Houses, Temples, and Gardens

Japanese buildings are traditionally built according to the post and lintel principle. They are most often made of wood. Exterior and interior partitioning is flexible and is achieved by screens or shutters. Corridors connect the buildings of a complex. Japanese gardens emerged from the rearrangement of natural clusters of stone in roped-off sacred Shinto shrine areas. The Japanese garden has six basic compositional elements, which are described in the ancient book, the Sakuteiki. Basic prototypes are implemented by intensifying and recreating nature. The capitals of Heijō-kyō and Heian-kyō were established in the 8 th century based on a Chinese model. They were arranged in a grid of city blocks. Merchants lived in townhouses in the city and commerce was carried out on the markets. The Shinden Style is the building style preferred by the Heian aristocracy. Its grounds usually occupy two city blocks north-south and features a pond as well as numerous other features, and a complex of buildings and corridors. The interior is fairly open and flexible through the use of screens. Temples began to be built as Buddhism had been introduced from the mainland. Japanese Buddhist temples have features such as a pagoda, which varies in form. Tōdaiji and Byōdōin are prime examples of the temples of this time. During Medieval times a new style of building called the Great Buddha Style was introduced from China. This style is simple yet dignified and suited for building massive structures in short time. The Zen Style was also introduced at this time and features highly embellished rafters and ornamentation. The styles present in Japan before this time became known as the Japanese Style, which was mixed with the two new styles and then called the Eclectic Style. During the Medieval Peroid garden development first led to the dry landscape garden, where gravel of granite generally replaces water. In the latter part of the period great warlords built large gardens with ponds and stones which were meant to be viewed from inside. The Edo Period began when Tokugawa Ieyasu established himself in Edo Castle and began planning the city surrounding it. There are many illustrations of Edo from this time, which was a proliferating city of government and commerce. Merchants' houses and the houses of the townspeople were arranged in alleys with shops facing the main streets and residential houses in the backalleys. The stroll garden developed during this time. The …