December 3, 2010

Beauty of a Roof


Here is a close up photo of the Jimyoin Temple roof.

I love the way the old buildings in Japan were traditionally built, the wooden structure and the Kawara roofs. Many of the temples and shrines are built using a traditional wood joinery technique, which were nail-less or used few nails. This technique is not written down on any manual but passed down as a craft from generation to generation.

The roof made from tile is also a very important part of the structure. I read somewhere that the beauty of Japanese architecture lies in the varieties of its roof. I tend to agree.


Take a look at more beautiful skies all around the world here.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

So gorgeous - especially the first one.

Babzy.B said...

the temple roof is very beautiful! And yes snow is in town :)

VP said...

You have found a really nice way to catch our eye to the skies. I have always loved this kind of roof...

Unknown said...

Beautiful. I love the roofs of traditional buildings in Japan. Lovely details and beautiful lines.

arabesque said...

such artistry in this roof and i like architectures with history, well, as long as it isn't scary. ^0^

Halcyon said...

The roof is beautiful. Looks great against that sky! Happy weekend.

Lois said...

I agree too Kaori! I have always admired Japanese architecture. Nice sky!

cieldequimper said...

Old techniques, hopefully kept alive for more centuries. This is beautiful Kaori.

Anonymous said...

I've always found old Japanese architecture somewhat similar to old Norwegian architecture. What do you think?

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Norwegian_Stave_Church.html/cid_1123539667_06109v.html

Michael Valčić said...

I love the color of the sky in these shots! Very nice!

Anonymous said...

Poetry !


Please have a good Saturday.

daily athens

Kaori said...

Hi everyone! Thank you for the comments ;-D

altadenahiker, the Norwegian building is beautiful! The woodwork on the structure looks very similar, especially the lower half. I would never of thought the building was Norwegian just by seeing it :-)
(http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Norwegian_Stave_Church.html/cid_1046758026_StavChurch.html)

Al said...

Wonderful photos. I also love the traditional Japanese architecture, and my eye is always drawn to the roof.

Tall Gary said...

I, too, have to agree with you, Kaori. I love traditional Japanese architecture.

The one-piece sangawara tile was developed in the Edo period, late 17th century, to replace the Korean and Chinese imported multi-piece “hongawara” tiles because the sangawara tiles, being one-piece, were lighter and would cause less harm if a burning building collapsed. Your Jimyoin is roofed with the older-style “hongawara” tiles (on the left here (which are much like the Spanish-Colonial tiles we find here in SoCal, and also so appropriate to temple construction in Japan) with the unique Japanese innovation to the right.

gogouci said...

Amazing craftsmanship. Very interesting post.

Tall Gary said...

I just noticed that there is a Ji-Myô-In on Mount Koya. Are they connected in any way?

Francisca said...

Nice post, Kaori. I also am enamored with the kawara roof tiles. I posted about <a href="http://viewthrumygloballens.blogspot.com/2010/11/r-is-for-roof-tile.html>them here</a>. And I really admire construction without hardware. My sister and bro-in-law build no nail houses, using tongue and groove construction methods. Quite rare, these days, that kind of quality workmanship.

Francisca said...

Oops. That embedded URL did not work. :-( Here is the link if you'd like to see my Japanese roof captures: http://viewthrumygloballens.blogspot.com/2010/11/r-is-for-roof-tile.html

Tall Gary said...

@Francisca: It’s funny how just before coming here now I was watching the making of onigawara. The two videos amount to about twenty minutes here. The second one is one down to the right or here.

Francisca said...

@Tall Gary... very cool... am checking them out. Thanks!

Kaori said...

Tall Gary, yes there are several Jimyoin temples but I think the one you found is the first one :-D

Fransisca, I remember your photos of the roofs! So gorgeous ;-D

iservepharmacy said...

This is perfect because I love the different roofs and that's perfect that's exactly what I want, imagine no one in my neighborhood would have a roof like this.

Norbert Floth said...

I gotta agree about the beauty of these roofs. That just shows great craftsmanship. It's amazing how methods like these are passed down from generation to generation, in this age where the internet is commonplace.

Unknown said...

Nice shot! Japanese really has a traditional taste in design and architecture, which I think is their advantage. Despite the age, their creations still look great and definitely can keep up with the modern style. I just hope they maintain this kind of structure to make it last longer. This is an interesting topic. Thanks for sharing.

Willene Fagen

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