| ||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £2.35
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: The Secrets of a Craft for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £2.35, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Product Description
0ver a thousand years ago in Nara, Japan, anonymous carpenters erected a number of temples and pagodas for a newly founded Buddhist monastery known as Yakushiji. Not only is one of those pagodas still standing today, but also surviving are the dedication to quality and the technical skill of its builders as seen in the work of modern-day craftsmen. The Genius of Japanese Carpentry focuses on such practicing carpenters, who combine in their work the timeless past and the living present.
What precisely is a Buddhist temple, what a temple carpenter, and what relationship do they have to Japanese woodworkers and carpenters in general? S. Azby Brown raises and answers these questions before taking up the subject that lies at the heart of the book: the construction of the Picture Hall, one of the temples lying within a sub-compound of the Yakushiji monastery. Founded in the eighth century and subject over time to the depredations of fire and warfare, the Yakushiji is now in the midst of a complete renovation that will, by the year 2030, restore its original appearance. As one part of this project, the construction of the Picture Hall has now been completed, employing the methods, the architectural style, and to a large extent the technology of its Japanese historical predecessors.
From the day work commenced on the Picture Hall to the day it was finished, the author was at the site, camera in hand, recording its step-by-step erection: the selection of wood, the fabrication of parts, the detailing, the joint-making, the laying of the foundations, the pillars and beams going into place, installment of rafters and struts, the laying of the roof and roof-tiles, and, finally, the holding of the festive ridge-beam ceremony. In addition to documentary photographs, the book is remarkable for the author's drawings, based on the plans of the master carpenter himself. The combination of photos and drawings so clarifies the process of erection that the ambitious reader might imagine, for one heady moment, that he or she might undertake the building of just such a temple if only provided with the proper tools. While far from the truth, this illusion is eloquent testimony to the lucidity of the author's presentation. While it is thus the construction process itself that forms the center of the book, another important element, the human element, is never slighted. The carpenters themselves are continuously present, patiently going about their work, concentrating on the job at hand. It is perhaps from their example, as much as from the description of the stages of construction, that the modern reader will derive inspiration, discovering a common bond of sympathy that bridges both time and cultural boundaries.
What precisely is a Buddhist temple, what a temple carpenter, and what relationship do they have to Japanese woodworkers and carpenters in general? S. Azby Brown raises and answers these questions before taking up the subject that lies at the heart of the book: the construction of the Picture Hall, one of the temples lying within a sub-compound of the Yakushiji monastery. Founded in the eighth century and subject over time to the depredations of fire and warfare, the Yakushiji is now in the midst of a complete renovation that will, by the year 2030, restore its original appearance. As one part of this project, the construction of the Picture Hall has now been completed, employing the methods, the architectural style, and to a large extent the technology of its Japanese historical predecessors.
From the day work commenced on the Picture Hall to the day it was finished, the author was at the site, camera in hand, recording its step-by-step erection: the selection of wood, the fabrication of parts, the detailing, the joint-making, the laying of the foundations, the pillars and beams going into place, installment of rafters and struts, the laying of the roof and roof-tiles, and, finally, the holding of the festive ridge-beam ceremony. In addition to documentary photographs, the book is remarkable for the author's drawings, based on the plans of the master carpenter himself. The combination of photos and drawings so clarifies the process of erection that the ambitious reader might imagine, for one heady moment, that he or she might undertake the building of just such a temple if only provided with the proper tools. While far from the truth, this illusion is eloquent testimony to the lucidity of the author's presentation. While it is thus the construction process itself that forms the center of the book, another important element, the human element, is never slighted. The carpenters themselves are continuously present, patiently going about their work, concentrating on the job at hand. It is perhaps from their example, as much as from the description of the stages of construction, that the modern reader will derive inspiration, discovering a common bond of sympathy that bridges both time and cultural boundaries.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
In most discussions of traditional Japanese architecture, one of the first questions to be raised is why wood has been the primary building material, contrasting so sharply with the Western tradition, whose ancient monuments were almost always of stone and brick, and even with Chinese and Korean architecture, where masonry figures almost as prominently as wood. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In most discussions of traditional Japanese architecture, one of the first questions to be raised is why wood has been the primary building material, contrasting so sharply with the Western tradition, whose ancient monuments were almost always of stone and brick, and even with Chinese and Korean architecture, where masonry figures almost as prominently as wood. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A high-level look at Japanese joinery in carpentry and temple architecture. Good photographs and diagrams. This book would have more meaning to a carpenter as it is not an instruction book to learning and implementing these techniques.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
37 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Overview of Japanese Joinery in Carpentry and Architecture
18 Feb 1998
Format:Paperback
A high-level look at Japanese joinery in carpentry and temple architecture. Good photographs and diagrams. This book would have more meaning to a carpenter as it is not an instruction book to learning and implementing these techniques.
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating book
16 Oct 2001
Format:Paperback
Did you know that wood from trees that were growing on the south-facing side of a mountain has got to be used in the southern-facing face of a Japanese temple, so that it experiences the same weather conditions as it used to and doesn't warp so much? Or that the curving grain of a wood can be used to support a load from above, so the curve neutralises the sagging? This and many other fascinating aspects of the highly refined art of Japanese carpentry are revealed in this book. Every page makes you marvel at its precision, sophistication and sheer ingenuity. Azby Brown writes with clarity and knows how to capture all the interesting details.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Excellent book on Japanese architecture
25 Aug 2005
Format:Paperback
This book presents an excellent detailed view of the entire restoration process of the picture hall which is part of Yakushiji temple. I have been marvelled at the bracket (tou-kung) structures in ancient Chinese and Japanese temples but I was not able to find much information about them anywhere. This book not only describes in detail how the bracket system holds the weight of the roof, but also how they are constructed, with detail photos and diagrams of many mortise/tenon joints.
In short, it is just an incredible book that gives you insights into how those Japanese temples were built, without a single piece of nail that holds them together, but yet lasted for centuries.
In short, it is just an incredible book that gives you insights into how those Japanese temples were built, without a single piece of nail that holds them together, but yet lasted for centuries.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Architecture > Types of Architecture > Religious Buildings
- Books > Art, Architecture & Photography > Architecture > Types of Architecture > Residential Buildings > Houses & Flats
- Books > Home & Garden > Crafts > Woodworking
- Books > Home & Garden > Interior Design & Decoration > Styles & Decor
- Books > Science & Nature > Engineering & Technology > Civil Engineering > Building Construction & Materials
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
