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A neighborhood Shinto shrine at the end of
an urban back alley. A monumental Buddhist
temple alongside skyscrapers and neon-lit
pachinko parlors. A traditional
post-and-beam farmhouse tucked behind a
suburban neighborhood. Even in the
hodgepodge industrial landscape that has
sprung up in Japan in the past few decades,
places of startling beauty -- both sacred
and secular -- abound.
Traditional Japanese design, shaped by the
animistic tradition of Shinto, prizes
natural materials like stone, wood, and rice
straw. From Buddhism, it takes a sense of
worldly impermanence, expressing life’s
ephemerality with ikebana flower
arrangements and cryptic Zen rock and gravel
gardens, raked in concentric circles to
represent the ripples of time.
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Japanese style can run
the gamut from sophisticated to rustic,
but it often creates a pleasing mix of
both extremes, with an emphasis on
minimalism and natural materials.
Refined teak and bamboo chairs alongside
a roughhewn timber post exemplify the
blend of earthy and elegant that
characterizes Japanese design at its
best. |
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Even the most modern Japanese homes
frequently incorporate traditional rustic
elements: wooden posts and beams, ceramic or
copper roof shingles, bamboo, tatami, and
delicate rice-paper shoji screens.
Irregularities are prized -- a chip in a
teacup becomes part of the object’s history,
rather than a flaw -- and everyday objects
like handmade brooms or an earthenware food
jar are often works of art.
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Venetian
Plaster and Plaster wall effects |
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Create sleek,
sophisticated
authentic textured wall treatments using traditional
Venetian
and
Stucco
Plaster Effects. Smooth, polished and textured
surfaces can be easily achieved for interior and
exterior surfaces.
Visit the Plaster Effects Center now for
Step-by-step tutorials
Also available
Venetian Plaster Kits
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| Nature is always kept in
sight in Japanese design, whether with a
formal bonsai garden or simply a
loosely-constructed wood or bamboo fence
enclosing cedars, Japanese maple or
cherry trees. Indoors, bird, flower and
tree motifs appear on painted scrolls
and screens. |
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Sacred elements can create a special
atmosphere even in the most mundane context.
A simple Shinto temple washbasin can imbue
an everyday space like the bathroom with a
tranquil air. A daruma or wish doll,
which represents the Buddhist saint
Bodhidharma, makes a colorful accent (to
make a wish, you paint in one of the pupils
in black ink; if the wish comes true you
paint the other and discard the doll).
Stone temple lanterns, bells, and
incense-holders are also wonderfully
evocative. For the diehard Japanophile, a
torii gate, which marks the beginning of
sacred space in a Shinto shrine, can be a
stunning garden element.
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