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The “washitsu” is only found in Japan. The current volume gathers basic insights into the value of the “washitsu” as a world cultural heritage to widen and deepen the understanding of the “washitsu” at a time when it is in an intolerable decline.
 
Chapter 1 tackles the troublesome issue of defining the “washitsu,” focusing on its intangible cultural value. What is important here is the discovery of the fact that characteristics of the space which the Japanese would perceive as the “washitsu” are shared across generations to a surprising extent, and the reaffirmation of the fact that the way of being in a space called the washitsu and life in it is still deeply embedded in the everyday life of the Japanese despite having been deeply impacted by western cultures since the Meiji Restoration and by American culture since the end of World War II.
 
Chapter 2 explains the period in which Shoin-zukuri, the presumed origin of the washitsu, emerged and its background. The chapter locates the origin of the washitsu in a space of play where people sat together regardless of their ranks that appeared in the medieval samurai houses. It presents an understanding of the essence of the washitsu as a free and equal space that is surrounded by nature.
 
Chapter 3 describes how the washitsu, which had been established in the Middle Ages, changed in the early modern period. Particularly, it provides a concrete explanation as to how the washitsu, which had emerged as a free and equal space in the Middle Ages, became formalized/rule-bound according to the status, even to the level of details of decoration in the early modern political system.
 
Chapter 4 focuses on the chashitsu (tea ceremony room), one field of the washitsu, which has exerted no small influence on not only the development of the washitsu as a whole but also modern architecture. The origin of the tea ceremony, a practice unique to Japan, which takes place in a small room with tatami mats, goes back to the Middle Ages, the same period when Shoin-zukuri emerged as discussed in Chapter 2.
 
Chapter 5 surveys the history, production methods, and types of tatami mats that are at the heart of the washitsu. Tatami mats are a type of floor finishing material that is unique to Japan. It is important to appreciate their sizes and the way they are laid out to fill the room, which leads to the uniqueness of Japanese architecture.
 
In Chapter 6, we will see how the washitsu re-affirmed its position as a compromise amid evident westernization since the Meiji era, as seen in the adoption of chairs for sitting and the construction of western-style buildings without being excluded from Japanese daily life, in which it was deeply embedded.
 
Chapter 7 sheds light on how famous architects of the Showa era dealt with the washitsu in their works.
 
The major focus of Chapter 8 is on the investigation into the supply of the washitsu in contemporary housing and the occupants’ needs for it, based on several, invaluable surveys on housing and the occupants’ preferences, which were carried out from the 1980s till today. The chapter shows that, while the supply of the washitsu has significantly declined over the past 10 years, the occupants” needs for it remain strong.
 
Chapter 9 focuses on the relationship between modern and contemporary Japanese lifestyles and the washitsu. The chapter opens with a discussion that all of the “nikoichi-nagaya,” housing units with two houses put together, which were built long before the war, were made with the washitsu and reaffirms that the washitsu had spread to commoners’ housing before the war. It then discusses the principles behind the spread of the washitsu in the postwar detached houses in the suburbs and the change of the washitsu’s role because events and rituals that used to take place at home were increasingly taking place outside one’s home with concrete examples.
 
Chapter 10 discusses what Japan should promote to the world so that the washitsu can achieve the status of an intangible cultural heritage.
 

(Written by MATSUMURA Shuichi, Project Professor, School of Engineering / 2022)