The Inner Harmony of the Japanese House
by Atsushi Ueda
List Price:
Our Price: $17.75
You Save: $10.25 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $11.25 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Atsushi UedaTranslator: Stephen Suloway
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); Japanese (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-10-20
ISBN: 4770023537
Number of pages: 204
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Book Reviews of The Inner Harmony of the Japanese House
Book Review: The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly of Japanese Architecture
Summary: 5 Stars
The original title in japanese was "The Japanese and the house" and that should have been the English title. Don't expect a sales-advertisement trying to sell you japanese architecture as the world's most perfect, showing you only the most perfect examples, like most books on the subject do; this book was written by a Japanese for the Japanese, so it's not trying to fool anyone. Instead, it addresses the good, the bad and the (very) ugly of Japanese architecture in the 1970s, and gives a lot of recommendations for future development. In this sense, this book feels a lot like "A Pattern Language", from Christopher Alexander.
I finished this book in a weekend. Unlike many other translated books on Japanese architecture, it is written in clear English and talks about daily life issues anyone can understand, and does it with a good (sometimes hilarious) sense of humor. It does not go high on insipid philosophical discussions, but goes deep into the roots of current day virtues and vices of Japanese architecture.
Don't expect color photographs, floor plans or sections; this books was not illustrated by the author, but by the editor. The original work is text-only. Even if it were to be stripped from the b/w photos it has, it is still a very entertaining book, that reads almost like a novel, and will make you learn a lot of things about the realities and problems of Japan while having some good laughs. It's really refreshing to find a book on architecture that talks about real life needs instead of difficult-to-understand philosophical concepts.
Summary of The Inner Harmony of the Japanese House
With the possible exception of the woodblock print, no other aspect of Japanese culture has been so widely embraced outside Japan as the traditional Japanese home. Interior decorators, architects, and homeowners from the West have been borrowing from Japanese architecture since Frank Lloyd Wright, yet the fundamentals of the Japanese abode remain something of a mystery. What is the age-old sensibility behind it? Why do luminaries in the field hold it up as one of mankind's most successful blends of function, tradition, and nature? Atsushi Ueda ably answers these questions in Inner Harmony, which became a bestseller in his native Japan and continues to be used in high schools and colleges throughout the country. Breaking down the living space into its primary elements-shoji, partitions, pillars, garden, and so on-Ueda reveals the underlying patterns and hidden harmony that took centuries to evolve: he discusses the ways in which shoji exploit the natural light to create a subdued radiance; the way decorated sliding doors and moveable partitions define one's sense of living space; and the function of a miniature garden as viewed from inside the house as well as out. In the manner of John McPhee and Tracy Kidder, Professor Ueda unravels the concealed concepts at work in the Japanese living space, and brings compelling insights and a long-needed clarity to the subject-all in the best tradition of contemporary literary nonfiction.Home Design Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Home Design Books
The Book of the Conservatoryby Peter Marston
Trafalgar Square; Published: 1993-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $110.72
English Heritage from the Airby Neil Burton
Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd; Published: 1994-04-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $110.46
Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt (Phoenix Books)by Hassan Fathy
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2000-12-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.59
Price in other shops:
The Country House GuideJonathan Cape Ltd; Published: 1979-07-19; Hardcover; Book
Buildings of Louisiana (Buildings of the United States)by Karen Kingsley
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-05-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.00
Price in other shops:
Soils and Foundationsby Cheng Liu, Jack B. Evett
Prentice Hall; Published: 1991-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $45.37
Price in other shops:
Construction Lawby Brian M. Samuels
Prentice Hall; Published: 1995-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $99.95
Price in other shops:
Energy Management Guide for Government Buildingsby Albert Thumann, Robert Hoshide
Fairmont Pr; Published: 1994-04; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Highway Materials, Soils, and Concrete (3rd Edition)by Harold N. Atkins
Prentice Hall College Div; Published: 1996-09-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.08
Price in other shops:
The Palladian Revival: Lord Burlington, His Villa and Garden at Chiswickby Professor John Harris
Yale University Press; Published: 1994-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $230.62
Similar Books and other products
Landscapes for Small Spaces: Japanese Courtyard Gardensby Katsuhiko Mizuno
Kodansha USA; Published: 2002-08-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops:
Japan Home: Inspirational Design Ideasby Lisa Parramore, Chadine Flood Gong
Tuttle Publishing; Published: 2010-03-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.04
Price in other shops:
The Art of Japanese Architectureby Michiko Young
Tuttle Publishing; Published: 2007-07-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.80
Price in other shops:
Building the Japanese House Todayby Len Brackett And Peggy Landers Rao
Harry N. Abrams; Published: 2005-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.82
Price in other shops:
The Japanese Bathby Bruce Smith, Yoshiko Yamamoto
Gibbs Smith, Publisher; Published: 2001-04-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $42.70
Measure and Construction of the Japanese House (Contains 250 Floor Plans and Sketches Aspects of Joinery)by Heino Engel
Charles E. Tuttle Co.; Published: 1985; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.46
Price in other shops:
A Japanese Touch for Your Homeby Koji Yagi
Kodansha USA; Published: 1992-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
Shoji: How to Design, Build, and Install Japanese Screensby Jay van Arsdale
Kodansha USA; Published: 1988-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.54
Price in other shops:
Japan Style: Architecture Interiors Designby Geeta Mehta, Kimie Tada, Noboru Murata
Tuttle Publishing; Published: 2005-01-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.06
Price in other shops:
The Japanese House: Architecture and Interiorsby Alexandra Black, Noboru Murata
Tuttle Publishing; Published: 2000-11-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.66
Price in other shops: