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Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings

Edward Sylvester Morse

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Book Excerpt: 
. . .This polished black surface is made by first rubbing with a cloth, then with silk, and finally with the hand.

A newly-finished kura presents a remarkably solid and imposing appearance. The roofs are of immense thickness, with enormous ridges ornamented with artistic designs in stucco, and the ridges terminating with ornamental tiles in high-relief. The fine polish of these buildings soon becomes impaired, and they finally assume a dull black or slaty color; sometimes a coat of white plaster is applied. Upon the outside of the wall a series of long iron hooks are seen; these are to hold an adjustable wooden casing which is often used to cover the walls, and thus to protect them from the eroding action of the elements. These wooden casings are placed against the buildings, proper openings being left through which the iron hooks project, and lon. . . Read More

Community Reviews

An exhaustive review of Japanese homes including most of the significant features, I.e., design, roofs, flooring, walls, verandas, gardens, etc. Other books might go into more detail on specific aspects, but this book covers more ground than any other book I've read. His critique of the shortcomings

It was written like 140 years ago but still, this is IT.

Very thorough. Not so much for the casual reader.

If you want to learn an almost overwhelming amount of information about Japanese architecture, then this is the book for you. I found myself daunted by the sheer scope of the work, especially because a large amount of it is descriptions of various household pieces. I found the inclusion of pictures

Morse portrays the image of the typical Japanese home for the curious westener. Simple and strait forward, this is an light and easy read with many beautiful images

This is actually the second time I'm reading this - I first came across this book in the library of a former employer back around 2014ish.

An amazing book if you want to learn all the parts and some of the culture that goes into making classical Japanese home architecture. An amazing array of gorgeo

Even if you are not interested in Japanese traditional architecture and do not care about Japanese, still it is a precious book. Edward Morse opens his heart to Japanese culture and rewarded himself and his readers with insight, grasp of it. This book was first published 1885, but I have not seen an

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