Japanese Architecture

Japanese houses have thin walls because of the mild climate and overlapping, slanted, and slightly curved roofs because of the fact that there is plenty of rain especially during early summer. Timber is the traditional building material for Japanese houses. It makes them airy which is important during the humid summer months. The disadvantages are that the houses can be damaged easily by earthquakes and fires. Modern architectural techniques were introduced into Japan with the launch of the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The first buildings to result from this effort combined traditional Japanese methods of wood construction with Western methods and designs.

For Japan, which is frequently hit by earthquakes, development of earthquake-resistant construction has always been a major problem in architecture. The first skyscraper of Japan, the Kasumigaseki Building, was completed in 1968, having made use of the latest earthquake-resistant technology. A number of skyscrapers were built thereafter, including those in Nishi-Shinjuku in Tokyo and the Landmark Tower (296 meters high) in Yokohama.