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Ryukyuan architecture (view source)
Revision as of 11:51, 26 December 2013
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[[File:Okinawan-home2.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A typical Okinawan home, on display at the [[Okinawa Prefectural Museum]]]]
[[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.
[[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.
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==Vernacular Homes==
[[File:Okinawan-home.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The bare wooden-floored ''ita-no-ma'' of a typical Okinawan home, with hearth in the far corner, and a glimpse of the kitchen off to the left. Display at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum.]]
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'', 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.
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==
==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.
*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.
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Art and Architecture]]
[[Category:Art and Architecture]]