A Traditional Japanese House with a Jointed Wooden Frame and Tsuchikabe Walls: the Kamogawa House in Chiba

Abstract

The story behind the house built by Seyseysha in Kamogawa (Chiba) began with a couple who wanted a home where their children could grow up freely in nature. So Makoto Fukada and the Seyseysha team set to work using age-old construction methods to craft a dwelling for them in the lush outskirts of Kamogawa. These traditional techniques rest on a solid, centuries-old foundation. Builders of yore, always mindful of Japan’s climate, topography, and regional specificities, developed methods for creating homes that would be sturdy, long-lasting, and at ease in their surroundings. The resulting structures, layouts, and designs of traditional Japanese houses adopt forms attuned to what nature offers, and the Kamogawa House is no exception. With its formal integrity, the dwelling evokes the spirit of a bygone age when people and nature partook in a symbiotic harmony.

Keywords

• Carpentry
• Japanese culture
• Traditional crafts
• Building techniques
• Wooden structure