Japanese Architecture in the Momoyama Period

The ornate castle architecture and interiors of the Momoyama period were a reflection of both a feudal lord's power and a new aesthetic sense.

Learning Objective

Explain the relevance of ornate castle architecture and interiors of Momoyama architecture.

Key Points

During the Momoyama period (1573-1603), Japan underwent a process of unification after a long period of civil war, and rulers Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi built castles as symbols of their power.Typically, castles build during this period consisted of a central tower or tenshu surrounded by gardens and fortified buildings.
The dark interiors of castles were often decorated by artists, and the spaces were separated using sliding fusuma panels and byōbu folding screens.
The ornate castle architecture and interiors, adorned with painted screens embellished with gold leaf, marked a clear departure from the somber monotones favored during the previous Muromachi period.
The shoin style, or a style of Japanese residential architecture that forms the basis of today's traditional-style Japanese houses, had its origins within the earlier Muromachi period and continued to be refined during the Momoyama period.
Ōsaki Hachiman-gū (大) is a Shinto shrine in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan and is a fine example of Momoyama architecture.

Terms

daimyo
A lord during the Japanese feudal period.
Namban style
(or Nanban, "southern barbarians") A term commonly applied to the Portuguese traders who began arriving in Japan in the mid-fifteenth century.
hip-and-gable
An East Asian style of roof architecture in which a hip roof slopes down on all four sides and integrates a gable on two opposing sides; it is usually constructed with two large sloping roof sections in the front and back respectively, while the two sides each are usually constructed with a smaller roof section.

Full Text

Overview: Architecture in the Momoyama Period

During the Momoyama period (1573-1603), Japan underwent a process of unification after a long period of civil war. It was marked by the rule of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, men who built castles as symbols of their power; Nobunaga in Azuchi, the seat of his government, and Hideyoshi in Momoyama. The Ōnin War during the previous Muromachi period had led to rise of castle architecture in Japan. By the time of the Momoyama period, each domain was allowed to have one castle of its own.

The Momoyama period was a period of interest in the outside world, while it also saw the development of large urban centers and the rise of the merchant class. The ornate castle architecture and interiors, adorned with painted screens embellished with gold leaf, were a reflection of both the power of the feudal lord (known as a daimyo) and a new aesthetic sense that marked a clear departure from the somber monotones favored during the previous Muromachi period. A specific genre that emerged at this time was called the Namban style—exotic depictions of European Christian priests, traders, and other "southern barbarians."

Castle Architecture

Typically, castles during this period consisted of a central tower or tenshu surrounded by gardens and fortified buildings. All of this was set within massive stone walls and surrounded by deep moats. The dark interiors of castles were often decorated by artists, and the spaces were separated using sliding fusuma panels and byōbu folding screens.

Byobu

A six-panel byōbu folding screen from the 17th century

Matsumoto, Kumamoto, and Himeji (popularly known as the White Heron castle) are excellent examples of the castles of the period, while Nijo Castle in Kyōto is an example of castle architecture blended with that of an imperial palace, to produce a style that is more in keeping with the Chinese influence of previous centuries.

Matsumoto

Matsumoto Castle in Matsumoto, Nagano, completed in 1600.

Residential Architecture

The shoin style, or a style of Japanese residential architecture that forms the basis of today's traditional-style Japanese houses, had its origins within the earlier Muromachi period and continued to be refined during the Momoyama period. Verandas linked the interiors of residential buildings with highly cultivated exterior gardens. Fusuma (vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side) and byōbu (folding screens) became highly decorated with paintings, and often an interior room with shelving and an alcove (tokonoma) was used to display art work (typically a hanging scroll).

Ōsaki Hachiman-gū

Ōsaki Hachiman-gū (大) is a Shinto shrine in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan and is a fine example of Momoyama architecture. The main shrine building (社 shaden) is the oldest extant structure in which the worship hall and the main sanctuary are interconnected under the same roof in the shape of an H (a structure known as ishi-no-ma-zukuri). It is a single-storied structure consisting of a main sanctuary (honden) and a worship hall (haiden), which are joined via a connecting passage called ishi-no-ma. All three structures are under a single roof covered with shake shingles. The sanctuary and worship hall are both built with a hip-and-gable roof, to which a simple gabled roof of the ishi-no-ma connects. On the front of the building is an attached triangular dormer with a decorative bargeboard of strongly concave shape; the entrance is covered by an elaborate canopy.

Ōsaki Hachiman-gū shrine in Sendai city

The main shrine building is an example of Momoyama architecture.

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