Measure and Construction of the Japanese House

MEASURE AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE

JAPANESE

HOUSE

to ERNST NEUFERT sensei

my teacher in architecture

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LCC Catalog Card No. 84-051859

ISBN 978-1-4629-1684-9

First edition, 1985

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table of contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

FOREWORD BY MIRA LOCHER

INTRODUCTON

DEFINITIONS

measure

construction

1   MEASURING SYSTEM AND MODULE

measure of man

building measures

ken measure and module

traditional standards

2   SYSTEM OF PLAN LAYOUT

floor mat

kyō-ma method

inaka-ma method

planimetric-functional space

3   EXAMPLES OF FLOOR PLANS

typical floor plans

distinctions

superstition

physique of the tearoom

4   STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK

process

foundation

wall framework

roof

5   SPACE ENCLOSURES

japanese wall

floor

ceiling

6   MOVABLE SPACE CONTROLS

fittings

translucent paper panel

opaque paper panel

windows

7   CONSTRUCTIONS FOR SPIRITUAL SPACES

picture recess

shelving recess

study place

8   HOUSE ENCLOSURES

wooden shutters

shutter compartment

doors

CONCLUSION

for contemporary architccture

INDEX

list of illustrations

figure

1The human figure as standard for measure units

2Space requirements of the Japanese figure

3Comparison of figures of Northern Europeans and Japanese

4Comparative scales for shaku , foot-inch, and metric systems

5The Shōmei scroll

6Modular order of the Japanese house

7Modular order of the ceiling

8Modular order of the picture recess, tokonoma

9Construction details and standard sizes of the tatami

10 The kyō-ma method of design

11 The inaka-ma method of design

12 Comparison of the kyō-ma and inaka-ma methods

13 Tatami arrangements of standard rooms

14 Floor plans of standard room units

15 Examples of typical residences

16 Examples of typical farmhouses

17 Typical downtown Kyoto residence

18 Examples of house-garden design

19 Plan of prototype tearoom, cha-shitsu , with kitchenette, mizuya

20 Floor plans of tearoom types

21 Floor-plan diagrams of standard tearooms

22 Carpenter’s scroll

23 Constructional systems of early dwellings

24 Section of one-story residence

25 Section of two-story residence

26 Details of typical foundations

27 Standard longitudinal joints

28 Framing of groundsill and joint details

29 Wall framework construction

30 Column, beam, and tie joinings

31 Roof types and framing systems for different roof spans

32 Hipped-roof construction

33 Details of roof structure

34 Typical forms of lean-to roofs, hisashi

35 Wall-skeleton construction

36 Typical forms of exterior wood siding

37 Details of floor construction

38 Construction of suspended board ceiling

39 Details of ceiling construction

40 Typical ceiling patterns

41 Details of typical wood fittings and joinings

42 Typical forms of translucent paper panels, shōji

43 Translucent paper panels, shōji , in wall opening

44 Construction details of translucent paper panels, shōji

45 Arrangements of sliding panels for different column spacings

46 Opaque paper panels, fusuma , in wall opening

47 Construction details of opaque paper panels fusuma

48 Window types and their construction details

49 Typical forms of picture recess, tokonoma , and their construction

50 Typical forms of shelving recess, tana

51 Construction of shelving recess, tana , and cornice details

52 Typical forms and construction details of the study place, shoin

53 Arrangement and construction details of typical shutters, amado

54 Special forms of shutters, amado

55 Typical forms and construction details of shutter compartments, tobukuro

56 Typical forms and construction details of doors

publisher’s note

The text and drawings of this presentation, except for minor alterations in their sequence, have been taken unchanged from the larger volume The Japanese House: A Tradition for Contemporary Architecture, which was first published in 1964 and has gone through eleven printings. The decision of the publishers to single out the two chapters Measure and Construction from the fifteen of the original volume and to publish them as a separate book is, on one hand, a response to the growing trend in architecture to apply features of distinctive architectural styles of the past in contemporary design, and on the other, simply to provide a book more accessible to those interested in these two fundamental considerations. It is our hope that with this edition Dr. Engel’s excellent work will gain an even wider audience.

foreword to this edition

By Mira Locher

First published in 1985, Measure and Construction of the Japanese House remains in print and sought-after for 35 years, read and consulted by architects, students, and others interested in Japanese architecture. The book is the result of both the author’s careful and passionate study of Japanese culture and architecture as a recent university graduate and also his later reconsideration of some of the early ideas compelling his in-depth research. Although the initial publication date of Measure and Construction of the Japanese House is 1985, the book has a history that started more than 30 years prior, and its publication occurred at a moment when Japan and Japanese architecture were starting to undergo immense changes. In those proceeding 35 years, it is interesting to consider how this book has remained a top reference for the study of traditional Japanese houses.

Since the history of Measure and Construction of the Japanese House is much longer than the 35 years it has been in book form, this printing provides an opportunity to delve a bit into the history of the author and the work. First published as a stand-alone book in 1985, Measure and Construction of the Japanese House originally was part of Heinrich Heino Engel’s larger work, The Japanese House: A Tradition for Contemporary Architecture, published by Charles E. Tuttle Co. in 1964. The Japanese House in turn drew from Engel’s 1959 PhD dissertation, The Japanese Home and Modern Living. Engel developed his ideas during his extensive travel and research in Japan, influenced and encouraged by both his mentor, Ernst Neufert, and Neufert’s mentor, Walter Gropius.

Born in Germany, author Heino Engel studied architecture at the Technische Universität (TU) Darmstadt in the years following World War II. He was highly influenced by one of his professors, Dr. Ernst Neufert, who was active as an architect designing industrial buildings in post-war Germany. Neufert studied under Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus and, after traveling in Spain for a year, joined Gropius’ studio and then later worked as an architect for several companies. In the years prior to WW II, Neufert designed housing, as well as office and factory buildings, and became interested in the potential of standardization in design and construction. This interest led him to write Architects Data, a standardization handbook for architects first published in 1936, which remains a classic reference book for European architects, space planners, and contractors. Neufert was appointed to teach at TU Darmstadt in 1946, where he influenced a great number of students of architecture, including Heino Engel. Neufert’s greatest impact on Engel may have been his encouragement to travel and see the world after completing his studies, but Neufert’s important work on standardization no doubt also was an inspiration for Engel’s future career.

In 1952 Heino Engel left Germany to travel in the Middle East and Asia. He spent three years in Japan, from 1953–56, and for at least part of that time lived with a family in Otsu, not far from the historical capital of Kyoto. It was there that he first learned about Japanese culture and began seriously studying the architecture. While many Japanese towns and cities suffered severe damage in the war and rebuilt using contemporary materials and forms, Kyoto’s historic districts remained relatively intact. Engel no doubt spent a good deal of time examining the existing buildings in Kyoto as well as in the countryside. When Walter Gropius visited Japan in 1954, Engel had the opportunity to meet with him. Gropius encouraged Engel to delve deeply into his investigation of Japanese architecture and culture, and thus Engel proceeded to explore the aesthetic, environmental, cultural, and design details of wood dwellings,¹ paying close attention to the degree of emotional delight humans are capable of deriving from environment. In an essay discussing Japanese environmental aesthetics, Barbara Sandrisser describes Engel’s ideas as idealistic, perhaps, yet how humane and civilized. The young Engel was passionate about Japanese environment, recognizing the significance of culture to architecture.²

While in Japan, Engel published what appears to be his first essay on Japanese architecture, the article One Thought on Japanese Residential Architecture, for the Japanese architectural journal Shinkenchiku in 1956. In the essay, Engel expressed concern that architects were no longer learning from the past, and that modern architecture dealt only with the present conditions—a standard based on mass production. He pondered whether or not the art of building … could become also a mere technical product itself and cease to be a work of art.³ Engel discussed the Japanese-unique⁴ architectural qualities of the historic buildings in Japan—in particular the residences, and how often they are misinterpreted by outsiders with minimal knowledge of Japanese culture and the historical development of the architecture in relationship to political, societal, and environmental factors. He lamented the architecture being imitated as a superficial decoration or fashion and suggested that Japanese architecture could indeed be a model for creative expression within standardization—but only with a clear understanding of the backgrounds, conditions and influences that proved decisive in the formation of the essential characteristics of the traditional residential architecture.⁵

Engel’s interest in Japanese culture and architecture and his investigation of the development and design of historic Japanese houses led him to purse a PhD at TU Darmstadt, with Professor Neufert serving as an advisor. Engel focused his research on the building materials and construction methods of Japanese homes from the 17th and 18th centuries and completed his 124-page dissertation, titled Japan Wohnhaus für die Gegenwart (translated as The Japanese Home and Modern Living) in 1959.

After returning from Japan and while working on his dissertation, Engel was hired by the University of Minnesota to teach in the School of Architecture, where he initially served as a lecturer in 1956 and later as an assistant professor. He left Minnesota