Okinawa's architecture, typified in its gusuku (noble & royal castles) and minka (vernacular residences), incorporates Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian influence in rather distinctive local forms. Red-orange earthenware roof tiles and the white Okinawan limestone used in walls are among the most recognizable, or often-cited, features.
Early Okinawan Architecture
Pit-dwellings first appeared in the early Shell Mound period (c. 2000-1000 BCE), reaching their height around the middle of that period (c. 1000 - 100 BCE). The largest covered around ten square meters. Two styles of square pit dwellings have been found in Okinawa: some were simply dug into the red earth, while others, especially those in sandier areas, were encircled by limestone walls. Neither of the two forms featured hearths. Several communities of forty dwellings or more have been discovered on the island, including those at the Shinugudô site in Yonagusuku and the Nishi-Nagahamabaru site in Nakijin.
In the Late Shell Mound Period (c. 100 BCE - 1000 CE), pit dwellings were replaced with structured supported by pillars embedded in the ground.
Vernacular Homes
Okinawan homes are typically one-story structures built in wood, with red pottery roof tiles, and surrounded by white limestone walls. Sections of the wall are left open to allow for access, and for breezes to pass through; rather than being wide open, however, the entrance opening in the wall is blocked with a stone section called hinpun,[1] which provides privacy for the family (preventing passersby on the street from seeing directly into the home), and is said to block the entry of evil spirits. A pair of shisa (lion-dogs), typically in ceramic, are placed atop the roof or on either side of the gate, also in order to protect the home from evil spirits.
During the time of the Ryûkyû Kingdom, red ceramic tile roofs were limited to the aristocracy; most commoners lived in thatched-roofed homes.[2]
The home itself is elevated a short step above the ground, like Japanese homes, and is held up by wooden pillars, with most if not all of the walls separating rooms being comprised of sliding panels (i.e. sliding doors). Many of these are left open, especially in summer, in order to allow breezes to pass through to ameliorate the high temperatures and humidity typical of Okinawa's climate. A porch running along the front of the house, under the eaves, known as amahaji and facing the front yard, provides a breezy and shaded space to sit. More rural homes might have additional buildings, or additional areas within the walls, including livestock sheds, pigsties, vegetable gardens, and/or a well.
The interior of the home itself might typically consist of four to five rooms, plus a kitchen. As in traditional Japanese homes, the kitchen is located in an earthen-floored area, a step down from the elevated wooden floor, but immediately adjacent to another room, and contained under the same roof. The hearth (irori) is often located in a room with bare wooden floorboards, known as ita no ma ("planks room") in Japanese. Two "front rooms," known simply as the ichibanza and nibanza, serve as rooms for entertaining guests. These spaces typically have tatami on the floor, and contain the family altar (butsudan) and tokonoma. Behind these rooms, towards the rear of the house, are typically a pair of "rear rooms," known simply as ichiban (number one) and niban (number two) uraza (rear room). These serve as the family's bedrooms and private spaces.
References
- Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.
- Suzuki Kakichi, et al. "Ryukyuan Architecture: Its History and Features," Okinawa bijutsu zenshû 沖縄美術全集, vol 5, Okinawa Times (1989), 87-111.
- ↑ 屏風 or simply ヒンプン. Though written with the same characters as byôbu - the standard Japanese term for a folding screen, which also could be said to serve to block wind - hinpun takes its name from an approximation of the Chinese reading of those characters: píngfēng.
- ↑ Gallery labels, "Red-tiled roofs," National Museum of Japanese History.[1]