A HOUSE WITHOUT A GATE.
In Japan there was neither an architect nor a builder as a distinct calling. Even now, ordinary dwelling-houses are not built by either of them; it is the carpenter who has charge of their construction. The carpenter’s is a dignified craft; he is called in Japanese the “great artificer,” and stands at the head of all artisans. In the building of a house, a master carpenter is called in; he prepares the plans, and if they are approved, he sets to work with his apprentices and journeymen. The other artisans, the tiler, the plasterer, and the joiner, work under him. He is not as a rule an educated man and knows his trade from having worked at it from apprenticeship; and for his diligence or intelligence he has been set up by his master, or it may be that he has found a wealthy patron, or more probably, he comes of a carpenter’s family and has succeeded his father. Making use only of the knowledge acquired during his term of apprenticeship or service as journeyman, the master carpenter has little occasion to display his inventiveness or originality, for he need only follow the time-honoured conventions which hold sway in his craft as in all other arts and crafts of the country. Hence, monotony is a distinctive mark of Japanese domestic architecture; there is a sameness of style in all our dwelling-houses. The chief and perhaps the only point upon which the carpenter has to bring his ingenuity to bear is the arrangement of the rooms. If he has a large site to build on, he will spread out the building so as to secure as much southerly or south-easterly exposure as possible without counteracting inconveniences; but if the site is confined, he has to change his plans accordingly. Much depends upon the lie of the land. His object is to have no rooms that are useless or inconvenient. This is not such an easy task as may appear at first sight in a house in which, with one or two exceptions, the rooms may be turned into any use; for the very indefiniteness of their disposal makes the problem more difficult to solve than in the case of a house in which a definite use is assigned to each room at the time of erection.
A GARDEN.
Convention also makes itself felt in the laying out of a Japanese garden, though a greater latitude is allowed to the gardener’s ingenuity. Still the principles remain unchanged. In a large garden we usually find a pond, dry if no water is available, and surrounded with rocks of various shapes, and a knoll or two behind the pond with pines, maples, and other trees, and stone lanterns here and there. A few flowering shrubs are in sight, but these are planted for a season; thus, peonies, morning-glories, and chrysanthemums are removed as soon as they fade, while corchoruses and hydrangeas are cut down leaving only the roots behind. The chief features of the garden are the evergreens like the pine, trees whose leaves crimson in autumn like the maple, and above all, the flowering trees like the plum, the cherry, and the peach. A landscape garden presents, when the trees are not in blossom, a somewhat severe or solemn aspect; we do not expect from it the gaiety which beds of flowers impart. Indeed, many European flowering plants have of late been introduced, such as anemones, cosmoses, geraniums, nasturtiums, tulips, crocuses, and begonias; but they still look out of place in a Japanese garden. Roses are sometimes planted, but they are almost scentless. The humidity of the climate appears to militate against the perfume of flowers.
CHAPTER IV.
HOUSES: INTERIOR.
The sizes of rooms—The absence of furniture—Sliding-doors—Verandahs—Tenement and other small houses—Middle-sized dwellings—The porch and anteroom—The parlour—Parlour furniture—The sitting-room—Closets and cupboards—Bed-rooms—The dining-room—Chests of drawers and trunks—The toilet-room—The library—The bath-room—Foot-warmers.
