College of Environmental Design
Department of Architecture, UC Berkeley
Architecture Slide Library
Arch 170A Fall 1995 James Study Aid 20
I. Pre-Buddhist architectural traditions preserved since 685 in the rebuilding cycles (every twenty years) of the Naigu shrine at Ise ( Image 1 ). Worship of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, ancestress of the imperial family, centered here in the temple where her gifts to the emperor are kept. Co-existence in Japan of older Shinto religion worshipped here and later importation of Buddhism from China and Korea. Archaic nature of buildings at Ise. Ritualized nature of the rebuilding. Attention paid to preserving the kami, or spirit, within objects.
II. Early example of Buddhist architecture in Japan: temple of Horyu-ji just outside Nara (Image 1 or Image 2 ) (then the capital). Rebuilt (after a fire?) during the late seventh and early eighth century. Four parts of the monastery complex date to that period: Middle Gate, corridors defining much of the courtyard, Golden Hall (house for sacred images of the Buddha), and Pagoda (stupa form). Co-existence of Golden Hall and Pagoda within central courtyard breaks with axial nature of Chinese temple planning. Oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world. Structural system is largely Chinese, with Japanese elaborations including double-tiered roofs and cloud-shaped brackets.
III. Integration of Amidaist or Pure Land Buddhist architecture with a garden setting: Phoenix Hall, Byodo-in Temple, Uji, 1053. Built by Yorimichi, member of the Fujiwara family who ruled as regents in the emperor's name. U-shaped temple (built on an island rather than within a walled enclosure) and surrounding garden as representation of paradise. Manipulation of existing wooden structural system to create new building forms.
IV. Influence of Pure Land and Zen Buddhism in garden of Saiho-ji, begun c 1200 ( Image 1) in Kyoto (then the capital). Reworked c 1339 by Muso Kokoshi, a Zen priest. Two part paradise garden designed to encourage meditation. Lower garden centered upon an island; upper garden upon a dry rock course. Continuity of plant materials: moss, maple trees, bamboo. Complexity within simplicity.
Casto Edward Vocal Jr.
World Wide Web Authorer.
Department of Architecture, Slide Library
University of California, Berkeley
Send comments on page design to:
castojr@ced.berkeley.edu
This site last revised on Feburary 5, 1996