Design Method of Zen-Style Bracket Sets Recorded in the Japanese Carpentry Manual Kamakura Zoei Myomoku (Part 1): A Comparative Study with the Chinese Manual Yingzao Fashi – A Secondary Publication
Through a comparison with the traditional Chinese manual Yingzao Fashi (Technical Treatise on Architecture and Craftsmanship), this paper analyzes the composition and design methods of Zen-style bracket sets described in the Kamakura Zoei Myomoku, a technical document inherited by the Kawachi family of carpenters at the Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, Japan from the 13th to 19th century. As a result, the paper suggests that there were some similarities between Chinese and Japanese modular designs, which both used the cross-section of Gong as the basic unit, while other techniques like the use of a baseline for equal spacing and the rafter size as the basic unit, are considered to be Japanese innovations.
Hirotaro O. The time when the Zen-style architecture was imported [J]. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan, 1951, 1951(42): 128–139. https://doi.org/10.3130/aijsaxxx.42.0_128
Sugashi I. Impact of Chinese Architecture on Japanese Architecture: Especially on the Details. 1953, Sagamishobo.
Kinya S. Ancient buildings of Sung and Yüan Periods seen in Southern Kiangsu and Chekiang provinces (i): ancient pagoda and detail of wooden structure in the Sung period. Ars Buddhica, 1984, 1984(155): 38–62.
Kinya S. Ancient buildings of Sung and Yüan periods seen in Southern Kiangsu and Chekiang Provinces (ii): style of wooden structures of Sung and Yüan Dynasties and Zen-style Architectures around the Kamakura Period. Ars Buddhica, 1984, 1984(157): 79–113.
Tadanori S. A study on the carpenter’s technique manual “Kamakura Zoei Myomoku”: focusing on the Kiwari formula analysis of Zen style buildings [T/D]. 2011, Waseda University.
Tadanori S. The influence of Chinese architecture in the carpenter’s technical book Kamakura Zoei Myomoku: About the composition and design method of the bracket sets. In World Architecture History - Commemorative Papers on the Retirement of Professor Nakagawa Takeshi. 2015.
Kinya S. Bibliographical-Medieval Kamakura carpenter and construction name. In Kamakura City Cultural Property Union Catalog. 1987, 758–772.
Kinya S. The bracket of the Zen style (1) [J]. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan, 1966, 1966(128): 46–57. https://doi.org/10.3130/aijsaxx.128.0_46
Tadanori S. On the Kasane-hijiki bracket arm and the kaketo bearing block: characteristic of the modular proportioning of a bracket complex in “Kamakura Zoei Myomoku” Part 2 [J]. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan, 2008, 2008(624): 435–440. https://doi.org/10.3130/aija.73.435
Tadanori S. Modular proportioning analysis of respective dimensions in bracket complex: characteristic of the modular proportioning of bracket complex in “Kamakura Zoei Myomoku” Part 1 [J]. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan, 2006, 2006(608): 143–148. https://doi.org/10.3130/aija.71.143_3
Tadanori S. On the design method of the Zen style blacket complex: characteristic of the modular proportioning of the bracket complex in “Kamakura Zoei Myomoku” Part 3 [J]. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan, 2009, 2009(635): 241–247. https://doi.org/10.3130/aija.74.241
Kenji O. About the development of shiwari, especially the occurrence of Rokushigake [J]. Journal of Architectural History, 1955, 1955(21): 6–11.
Akinori M. On the determinable method of the measurement of a span between rafters in Buddhist main halls in the first half of the medieval period [J]. Transactions of the Architectural Institute of Japan, 1987, 1987(373): 62–73. https://doi.org/10.3130/aijax.373.0_62
Keisuke F. Japanese architectural technology and design: from comparison with China and South Korea [J]. Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, 2014, 2014(11): 6–13.
Sicheng L. “Yingzao Fashi” zhushi [The annotation of Yingzao Fashi]. 1983, China Architecture & Building Press, Beijing.
Takuichi T. “Yingzao Fashi” de yanjiu [A study on Yingzao Fashi]. 1970, The Japanese Society for Aesthetics.
Sicheng L. Qing shi yingzao zeli nian zaiban [Reprint of Qing Yingzao Zeli]. 2006, Tsinghua University Press, Beijing.
Hirotaro O. Riben jianzhushi xu shuo [History of Japanese Architecture]. 2016, Tongji University Press, Shanghai.