Monograph No. 43

THE STYLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF FARMING HOUSES (MINKA, NOKA) IN JAPAN

SEI YOSHIDA

 

The Stylistic Development of Farming Houses (Minka, Noka) in japan

 This paper is an attempt to outline the chronological development from 17th century to 19th century of Japanese farming houses and their changes in framework and plan. The paper is in three chapters.

 

Chapter one

 This is an account of the distribution of farming houses of common form or style. It includes a description of houses of the old shape and their chronological development in one particular area.

 

Chapter two

 This describes the distribution of farming houses of various styles and the progress of their different stages of growth in one region over a certain period of time. And this generally describes the relationships between style and region, chronology and social level.

 

Chapter three

 This describes the stylistic arrangement and chronological development of farming houses throughout Japan.

 

 The following is an explanation of the contents of each chapter.

 

Chapter one The growth of the minka style

Section 1 - The development of the common-form farming house.

 The Shinano River flows from the north of Nagano prefecture, through Niigata Prefecture and into the Sea of Japan. The style of farming house distributed along the middle reaches of this river is known as “chumonstyle”. This section describes the “chumonstyle” still remaining in the cities in its distribution area such as Tokamachi city (Figs. 1-1-1, 1-1-2); and it describes the chronological development and actual forms of the original houses using a survey showing chronological changes in structure and plan (Figs. 1-1-8, 1-1-14). The spread of “chumonstyle” houses from the lower reaches of the Shinano River to Tokamachi did not occur until after the beginning of the 19th century; however this preceded by 100 years the spread to the mountain villages on the upper reaches of the river in the Akiyama region (Nagano Prefecture).

 Surveys of structural changes and the chronology of different styles have, since about 1955, become the main current of survey research into minka. This account is one of these surveys and chapter three uses such data published within the last 30 years as its basic materials.

 

Section 2 - The development of farming houses of common styles. The divided roof style of north Kumamoto Prefecture.

 This form is on a level with the minka style described in the previous section and they bear close resemblances in terms of structure and design. The divided roof style houses found in north Kumamoto Prefecture dealt with in this section have separate roofs over the living rooms and the “doma” (unfloored area). Although similar traits can be seen in their long thin shape of the buildings and in the framework, they have different architectural styles and plan.

 There then follows an explanation of the chronological development from the 17th to the 19th century of minka of this style.

 The earliest extant examples of divided-roof minka are of those constructed since the second half of the 18th century. The Hosokawa clan which controlled this region during the first half of the 17th century has left a document (Higohan jinchiku aratame cho, 1633) which provides us with important information, and there is also in existence an important map (Horeki shinmachi ezu 1763) which shows in detail the provincial town known as Shinmachi in Yamagagun - this covers the period from the latter half of the 17th century to the mid 18th century (Fig. 1-2-1).

 

 The prototype of the divided roof minka of north Kumamoto Prefecture was probably established during the second half of the 16th century and had spread widely to the upper classes of farming society by the beginning of the 17th century, when it began to gradually become seen amongst lower classes of farming people. The divided roof minka of this period were on a small scale with Kyoshitsubu (floored area) and doma equipped with a stove. The structure was a simple single span style (Figs. 1-2-26, 1-2-27).

 At the beginning of the 18th century the divided roof minka of this region developed and the size increased although the scale of these buildings remained smaller than that of buildings in other regions. It has been established, according to the Shinmachi map, that buildings of more than two roofs were built togather to form one large roof (Figs. 1-2-33, 1-2-34). Even in the 19th century the divided roof form of minka still formed the main current of provincial minka.

 The buildings again increased in size and while constructing separate roofs, the framework began to be joined, although this style was basically the same as the 17th century style with a simple single span structure (Figs. 1-2-43, 1-2-45). Although there are many extant examples of two roof single buildings, there are also examples of three roof single buildings still in existance (Figs. 1-2-51, 1-2-52).

 

Chapter Two Regional differences in the development of various minka styles. Relationships between style, chronology, social level and region.

 Six places have been selected from Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture (Fig. 2-1-1). Using an index of the differences in development concerning the different styles of minka distributed in various regions, several discoveries have been made. Regional differences from the 18th century to the 19th century are shown in Figs. 2-1-5 and 2-1-6 using this index. See also table 2-1-7.

 A general theory is expourded explaining the functions and various changes in style according to region, period and social level and this can be seen in Figs. 2-1-9-2-1-II.

 

Chapter Three Stylistic developments of farming houses (Noka) throughout Japan Section 1 - Plan classification and basic data.

 From about 400 reports (list 188) of minka surveys covering all parts of Japan, about 5000 Noka have been selected with details concerning structure, plan and construction level chronology, to make up the minka data (list 187). The data for minka restorations has been arranged and also the pattern of basic rooms that have been joined together, is examined. The results have been arranged for general and basic rooms for each regionnema (bedroom, symbol N), zashiki (guest room, Z), hiroma (formal living room, H), katte (kitchen, K), hiroma; katte (formal living room/ kitchen, HK) and doma and there are about 130 different combinations (Fig. 142).

 Noka with strong regional characteristics have many more than six different types of room and even within the same kind of room there were considerable differences in contents. Also amongst the different types of room there were similar styles, but priority has had to be given to a broad outline covering the whole of Japan and so these disparities have had to be ignored.

 

Section 2 - The stylistic classification of minka by room types and the development of each class.

In sections 2 and 3 the patterens mentioned in section 1 are systematically arranged. In this section the composition of rooms is divided into four types (Fig. 142).

 

(1) No guest room type (Group of numbers 001 - 262, group 200)

(2) With guest room and formal living room/ kitchen type (Group of numbers 401 - 479)

(3) With guest room, formal living room and kitchen type (Group of numbers 501 - 580)

(4) With guest room and kitchen, but no formal living room or formal living room/ kitchen (Group of numbers 701 - 778)

 

 The chronological development of those minka that fit into one of these four categories are explained in the minka data covering 17th to 19th centuries (Figs. 113 - 115) and this can be summarised as follows.

 Figure 113 shows the 17th century distribution of four types. Predominant regional distributions of 400 group can be seen and there are few examples of groups 200 and 500 but group 700 seems to be concentrated in distinct areas such as the Kinki (Osaka, Kyoto) district. It is believed that the present distribution of extant houses differs from the original distribution pattern.

 The houses in group 200 are generally small in size and as their durable life is short, there were probably many instances of rebuilding with changes in lifestyle. It is thought that there were originally many more examples of this type.

 The houses of groups 400,500 and 700 were limited to upper class farming peoples and those of group 200 belonged to the average status farmer and there is a strong possibility that the average status fanner lived in a small house without hiroma until the mid 17th century.

 The 18th century distribution shown in Fig. 114 shows an increase in the number of group 400 houses and the range of distribution of groups 500 and 700 has increased. The number of houses of group 200 may well have been far greater than that shown in the map. In the 19th century map (Fig. 115) the 700 group distribution widers again and also becomes predominant over other types in certain regions.

 Aspects of the development of each type seen in Fig. 3-2-5 can be summarised as follows: numbers of group 400 and 500 increase replacing the numbers of group 200, coming close to those of group 700. In other words the trend is from houses without hiroma to houses with hiroma. The guest room becomes combined with the hiroma and then finally the hiroma disappears.

 

Section 3 - Composition of grouping and classification according to the plan of the house.

 In section 1 the 130 classified room combinations were arranged, and in this section those houses with similar plans are gathered together and arranged into 19 groups as shown in Fig. 143. The chronological changes of distribution of each group from the 17th century to the 19th century can be seen in Figs. 144 - 154.

 

Section 4 - Stylistic arrangement of groups according to classification by shape and 17th century pattern groupings.

 When we examine the contents of each group named in the previous section, we can see that within the pattern of each group there are some houses that resemble each other merely in shape and have no other stylistic connection. Also, some houses belonging to separate groups bear close resemblances in terms of style.

 In this section, therefore, the composition of each group is modified and those houses with stylistic links are reorganized and put into their own stylistic groups. This stage of stylistic examination as mentioned above, becomes our next subject. A method is used whereby the chronological distributions of two groups are investigated by examining the relations between those two groups. The chronological distribution takes various forms and in order to display these forms clearly, the relations between both groups are closely examined.

 

 As an example see Fig. 166 for the relative chronological distribution of shapes and groups, as in shape 411, group 411 and shape 754, group 754. The actual forms of chronological distribution for each region can be seen in Fig. 117 (In the A form region the stylistic relations are closer than to the B form, and D form has no relation. In the regions of C form, there are greater numbers from other stylistic groups.) The arrangement of distribution groups of each style in the 17th century is shown in Fig. 1 19. The principal stylistic groups can be represented by 411, 713, 754, 512, 412 and 501, and on the whole those groups existed in the second half of the 17th century. Accordingly it can be supposed that the basic shape of Japanese Noka was to someextent established by the second half of the 17th century. The development of each stylistic group after that time is shown in Figs. 120 and 121.

 

Section 5 - Tipe of framework and its distribution and cronological development.

 It is difficult to classify the patterns of framework of Noka giving an index common to the whole of Japan because there are strong local variations dependant on the region. Table 3-5-2 does not show regional and sectional frameworks but rather chooses an index concerning universal basic structural styles. About 500 minka are chosen out of those with data concerning constructional details and those which do not show any strong regional characteristics. These form list 189 of structural data minka. Figs. 122 – 127 illustrate the forms given in the index of table 3-5-2 of structural data minka. In addition an analysis is given of house shapes included in the index and the distributions and chronological changes of these various forms are also given.

 The various styles are then gathered and the regional characteristics of this unified axis structural shape (framework) and their forms and development are examined. Models of the structures of structural data minka have been made for this purpose and the various basic structures of these houses are shown in Figs. 131 - 141.

 The concept of “unit structure” which was established by the process of classifying the types of frameworks in these figures is also shown.

 This concept is based on the idea that however many rooms are gathered and however many structural units there are in one house, it is still on one single level. Unified structural pattern types of framework are large in number, but when viewed broadly they can be arranged into three types. The attributes of each type are shown in Fig. 129. There is also an arrangement of regional distributions named as the Kyushu type, Kinki type and East Japan/Chugoku type. Fig. 130 shows the distribution of each type from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century and even in the mid 17th century (when existing buildings are extremely rare) a distribution, similar to the end of the 17th century distribution, is recorded in several documents about minka (Fig. 174).

 Frameworks of Noka and their development can be summarised as follows. The basic noka in Japan during the early 17th century had a small unit structure and there were few small assembled framework structures (accordingly the house form was also small). They grew larger and larger gradually. The difference in the method to make house larger produced different type of framework. The conditions are complicated but when expressed concisely, the unit structure was made larger giving a large framework (and consequently a large house) to form the East Japan style. When the unit structure was increased in number without necessarily increasing in size and the houses’ depth increased, this is named as the Kinki style. When the house was built without magnification of unit structure, but when small houses were added to the existing structure (known as divided roof form) producing a house with a large surface area, this is named as the Kyushu style.

 

昭和60年3月25日 発行

日本における近世民家(農家)の系統的発展

奈良国立文化財研究所学報第四十三冊

 

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