春雨直播app

Most traditional Japanese architecture is made of wood. Since wood deteriorates over time, wooden structures require regular repairs, making maintenance an integral part of the cultural history of wooden architecture. Furthermore, the spiritual significance of wood as a material and the conceptual importance associated with the transportation of timber also carry cultural and historical value. For more on this topic, I recommend referring to my previous work, “Japanese History of Forests, Trees, and Architecture.”
 
When it comes to the repair of modern wooden architecture, the principles of repair have been heavily influenced by Western ideologies introduced in the modern era. Cultural heritage structures, in particular, are subject to strict repair practices, which are categorized into minor repairs, maintenance repairs, and fundamental repairs. Fundamental repairs involve extensive work, such as partial or complete dismantling. Through these regular repairs, the functionality of wooden buildings can be restored, making it possible to “inherit them forward” over time. Many of these repair techniques and principles have been significantly influenced by Western concepts in modern times.
 
The current concept of World Heritage originated in the West and has had a significant influence. However, methods and philosophies of repair have existed in Japan since the pre-modern era. Architecture, being an integral part of a nation’s culture, is deeply tied to its traditions. The reality of these practices reveals that pre-modern repair methods often embraced a more flexible approach to maintenance. Broadly speaking, these methods included emergency and heavy-handed method repairs, expansion, multiplication, degeneracy, and conversion.
 
Emergency and heavy-handed method repairs mainly involved techniques such as using support beams, constructing protective shelters, or lifting structures without dismantling them. Another common approach was replacing the original roofing material with a different one to create a more sustainable form. Although tiles are durable, their use requires skilled artisans. In contrast, switching to plant-based roofing materials, such as kaya (thatch), was a sustainable option as it could be locally sourced around the settlement.
 
There are also cases of multiplication, which involves the creation of additional structures, a practice often observed in shrines and tearooms. For example, in the 厂丑颈办颈苍别苍-锄ō迟补颈 ritual of the Shinto shrine Kasuga Taisha, the old shrine building is preserved and repurposed in a different shrine. In the case of Jo-an, a teahouse recognized for its cultural value and preserved for generations, “copies” were built following its relocation. Furthermore, if the tearoom En-an is destroyed or lost, the oldest “copy” is to be relocated in its place as the new En-an. This is an example of multiplication as a safeguard.
 
Another method is expansion, as seen in the addition or enlargement of worship halls attached to Buddhist temples. This involved moving pillars to expand the floor plan and adding decorative kaerumata brackets from the Nanboku-chō period to the facade reflecting the style of the time.
 
Conversely, examples of degeneracy and conversion include the reduction of five-story pagodas to three-story pagodas and the conversion of three-story pagodas into Buddhist halls, adapting them to the era and thereby ensuring sustainability. In one instance, the Tahōtō pagoda at Chiryu Shrine was repurposed as a library to prevent anti-Buddhist destruction (haibutsu kishaku). Similarly, the Nakayama Hokekyō-ji’s Soshidō hall, which had a roof with a valley section, was fitted with a larger roof during the Edo period to improve water resistance and enhance its sustainability. All these structures survived through degeneracy and conversion.
 
By positioning contemporary repairs within these practices, we can reinterpret Japanese architecture as part of the cultural history of wood. This approach reveals the challenges of repairing modern wooden structures in Japan and suggests potential directions for future repair methods.
 

(Written by UNNO Satoshi, Associate Professor, School of Engineering / 2024)