Japan and Japanisme

 Japan and Japanisme

 January 25, 2023

The essence of culture had interior designers and architects creating spaces according to how the individual lived. In this sense Japan had many qualities that needed to be included in their spaces. Such as impromptu and off-centered, serendipity and change,and treasured variation and imperfection are some qualities that they focus on in their culture. While creating design they pay very close attention to detail and naturalness. These charastics of Japan are what make their country so unique. Yet their design and attributes were influenced by China which is quite interesting as they go hand in hand with designs. 

Above is an image of one common building in Japan seen everywhere in their country.  Natural wood and geometric shapes were very prominent in the use of creating their exterior. The structure was formed in panels and rows while including movable panels. In Japanese architecture I noticed that movable panels were used to create more functional rooms. Meaning that one room can be used for different purposes which I  found very intriguing as that is not very common in architecture in the United States. Another component that was used in the exterior was a Shog which is a sliding panel that is made of light wood and translucent paper to be functionable as a door or window. 

         

With that being said the interior spaces were what made the space so unique. They included Tatami floor mats, decorative elements to embellish the room and connect the indoor to the outdoor. As shown above there are examples of the mats on the left top image and then the other two images show examples of the indoor and outdoor connections. The purpose was to connect the inside with the outside gardens and to have the natural light incorporated all for the main element of having the natural aesthetic. I valued that importance of natural qualities in there design because I do find natural elements very appealing as it can set the mood for what what the space is intended for. 

  Japanese folding chair (1940) Bamboo

Clothes Chest- Ishu-Dansu

With the understanding of interior and exterior of Japan comes the furnishing. As said before, wood is considered a “chief material” to Japan. As it is considered safer and has the natural qualities that they strive for. The most common woods used were Magnolia,Paulownia, Zelkova , White Mulberry , and Chestnut. Above is the folding chair that was designed in 1940. Yet before these they used mats that were shown in the images above. What I love about the chair is that it's made of natural wood and is very rustic to give it character. On the other hand I find the chest aestically pleasing to the eye between the natural wood and heavy metal hardware to bring the piece together. 

Fast forward into today's modernism , these images above show how we have taken what was used in the 19th century in Japan to today. They still use the natural elements while including the natural colors used in the fabrics. It's simple and pleasing to the eye of modernism that people are looking for today. In relation to Japanism and the design  that were focused on , recently this new restaurant has opened in Chicago that focused on these central design fundamentals . This place is called “ Kyuramen”. The interior focused heavily on the natural wood, natural lighting, geometric design and simplicity of the culture. I thought that was quite interesting to recognize and see this used in today's world. Below I have included some pictures of this restaurant. 

One step further 

Josiah Conder, the father of modern Japanese architecture. He was the first to build a public park in Uneo, Japan which eventually became a museum. He was well-known in Japan as he was also a teacher in Japan at Imperial college of engineering. He was helping teach the community in a variety of ways. Josiah was originally from England but lived in Japan for the rest of his life. As an Architect he collaborated with the government to build this building showing western country and non-western countries. “Conder's architectural designs incorporated a wide variety of styles, including European and colonial elements. Although he designed over fifty buildings during his career in Japan, many no longer exist.” (Wikipedia).

Extra sources:

Modernism in Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P4iINzzrOA

Elements of design in Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K10LE_8xs

Citations

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, August 22). Josiah Conder (architect). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 25, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Conder_(architect)