Traditional Japanese Architecture Terms

Japanese Architecture

• A traditional Japanese-style room features translucent paper over a frame of wood, known as Shoji, and Rush mats, known as Tatami, which are still key elements in traditional Japanese houses.
• The style of homes of the nobility in Heian-kyo, now Kyoto, featured main buildings and sleeping quarters in the center, connected to other apartments by corridors.
• Kondo is a hall with thirty-three spaces between columns.
• Sanju-Sangen-Do is a Buddhist temple that houses 1,000 life-size statues of the thousand-hand Kannon.
• Himeji Castle is considered one of Japan's best castles, with some of its original interior and exterior still intact.

Thai Architecture

• Thai architecture is primarily influenced by Indian and Khmer architecture, and secondarily by China and other countries.
• Kuti is a small structure built on stilts, designed to house a monk.
• Wat Ngao Sala Thai is a term used to refer to a place of worship other than Islamic mosques found in southern Thailand.
• Chedi is a Buddhist memorial mound erected to enshrine a relic of Buddha, commemorate special events, or mark a sacred spot.
• Prang is a tapering spire-shaped tower in a Hindu temple.

Chinese Architecture

• Pailou is a ceremonial gateway erected in memory of an eminent person.
• Pantile is a type of fired roof tile, normally made from clay, with an S-shaped appearance and single lap.
• Diaojiulou is a type of residential house with a dense architectural flavor of the ethnic minority in the southwestern Yunnan Province.
• Feng Sui is a set of general beliefs and traditions about luck that affect architecture.
• Xiam Tomb is a valuable Chinese architecture legacy.
• Shi Huang Ti is the emperor who built the Great Wall of China.
• The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, built to protect the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups.
• Temple of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing, visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for good harvest.