History of Asia

Nara period architectural style (temple edition)

Until now, I have known the other side of politics during the Asuka and Nara periods, but I would like to change my mind a little and look at cultural things.

Nara period temple

The temple that comes to mind when you think of a building from the Nara period.

The photo below is Toshodaiji Temple, which is famous for Jianzhen Osho.

This is a view of Toshodaiji Temple from a different angle.

"Sangharama" is often heard in connection with the architecture of temples. "Sangharama" is one of the highlights of Toshodaiji Temple. The sangharama here means a temple or a group of main buildings of a temple. The tower, main hall, auditorium, etc. vary depending on the denomination and era.

And this is Shosoin of Todaiji Temple. It is a famous building for storing treasures from the Nara period and the Heian period. This will be a stilt warehouse of Azekura-zukuri.

Please also refer to the website of the Imperial Household Agency for Shosoin.

What is Azekura-zukuri?

It seems to say that. (From the dictionary of housing construction terminology)

This is also a building called Keizo of Toshodaiji Temple, but it is a school storehouse. The ancestor of the school storehouse is the technique called "Samcheok construction method", which is often seen in private houses such as Yunnan Province in China, and it is said that this technique was introduced in the 4th to 5th centuries via China and the Korean Peninsula. The "tree ceremony" on the Korean Peninsula is famous for Gangwon-do and Ulrun Island).

The log construction method is similar to Azekura-zukuri. It is a so-called log house and has a history of being made in cold regions such as Scandinavia and North America. The characteristics of the log house are "cool in summer and warm in winter" and "excellent in humidity control", which matches the characteristics of Azekura-zukuri.

In the Azekura-zukuri, which was mentioned in this example, wood is processed into triangular prisms, but this is a shape devised so that the walls inside the room are flat.

Also, speaking of Japanese temples, there is an image of using abundant wood and making the color natural wood. However, by this time, the brilliant colors transmitted from the Tang dynasty were firmly used.

It will be a little later that the building will be unique to Japan. Similar to the Asuka period, many buildings in the Nara period were greatly influenced by the Tang dynasty.

Next time, I will write about "a certain thing" used in the palace.