Japanese Traditional Building Techniques Assignment

Japanese Traditional Building Techniques - Assignment Example Timber and clay are abundantly available in Japan; hence these are the main building materials used in Japanese house construction since the last several hundred years (Figure 1). The framework is constructed with timber, which is walled with the help of clay. By the late 1970s, this traditional method of building Japanese houses gradually decreased. This was mainly because the timber framework was replaced by the North American style panel construction, and the clay wall by timber or steel paneling. However, in some places in Japan such as Toyohashi, the traditional building technique is continued in the present day; though the number of clay-walled houses constructed is declining (Hideo 2003). Carpenters put sills on the concrete foundation, erect posts then using various joints they join the various posts with beams. The contemporary method is to use nails, reinforcing metals and brasses to give more earthquake resistance to the houses according to the Building Regulations. Accord ing to Hideo (2003), after the roof structure has been assembled, a ceremony of ridge raising termed Muneageshiki is performed, in collaboration with the client and the community. Carpenters prepare the frame sections at their workshop from cut timber, and assemble them at the building site. Plasterers set bamboo lath in frame spaces and apply clay to the lath. This Arakabe is generally applied before the onset of winter; and it takes one to two months to dry completely. This is followed by two more applications of clay.