Tatami mats under your stocking feet, shoji panels filtering the outside light, a flower arrangement and a painted scroll exhibited in the small alcove framed by natural pillars. All these are elements of the traditional Japanese room. Exploring the development of these elements and their use in traditional interiors is the topic of this quarter's article. In that statement Ueda sets forth the basic differences in architecture of West and East, particularly Japan. In the west, we use the outer and interior walls to bear the load of the building.
All civilizations use the materials in their building construction which are the most prevalent.
In the case of Europe, stone seemed the logical building material, in Japan with its vast forests it was wood. European structures were built as barriers against the forces of nature. Long before Buddhism brought temple architecture to Japan from mainland Asia, simple forms of post and beam construction were used in shelters as far back as the Jomon period. Post and beams continued to be used for all different types of building as architecture changed through the following periods up to the introduction of Buddhism and its temple construction. Post and beam and flexible joinery provided a viable building construct in a land where earthquakes and typhoons were not an uncommon occurrence.