Japanese cuisine. Japanese style in the interior: a piece of Zen philosophy in the home Japanese-style houses

It is worth noting that the Japanese style is perfect for those who do not want to open up to everyone who enters the house. Good room design almost never includes any personality traits. Such a faceless interior can belong to anyone.

A number of other characteristic features of the style:

rigor and conciseness;
the use of mobile screens and translucent partitions for zoning rooms;
squat furniture;
a large number of lamps, mainly with paper lampshades;
minimal use of metal in the interior;
availability on various surfaces hieroglyphs as recognizable symbols of Japan;
openness of the room to air and light.

Thus, Japanese style is a godsend for those who value comfortable minimalism and are not used to cluttering their heads and surroundings with unnecessary things.

Characteristic colors for Japanese style

Respect and closeness to nature can be seen in every detail of the Japanese interior. That is why the most natural reign here light shades: Woody, earthy, light green, sky blue and light pink. Beige, milky and cream often become the basis for further room decoration. Modern stylizations can use brighter colors.

The classic combination - black and white (light beige, milky) - is sometimes diluted with red or cherry color. There should be little of it, just to place accents and create an attractive contrast.

Japanese style furniture

The room, decorated in Japanese style, is quite ascetic. Avoiding oppressive overload with pieces of furniture, the rooms are filled with the minimum necessary set. So, the bedroom can only accommodate a tatami bed (a rectangular mattress on a podium) and a couple of bedside tables. Another way to organize a sleeping space is a futon, which is a rather thick mattress made of cotton fabric. It can be quickly and easily spread out while you sleep, and removed when you are awake.

Upholstered furniture in the Japanese style consists of low sofas and loungers with natural upholstery that feature regular geometric shapes. If there are armrests and backrests, they are small and usually made of natural wood.

Please note: pieces of furniture are usually placed along the walls, leaving the center of the room free.

Wardrobes and chests of drawers are not typical of this style; they are replaced by niches hidden in the walls with sliding doors made of rice paper. The issue of the presence of chairs in the interior is especially acute. Ideally, they are replaced by elastic pillows or low trestle beds, but if this solution causes discomfort, pay attention to small chairs or benches that match the style.

Decor

The decor in this case is single items that are not even particularly luxurious or decorative, but contribute to the design of the room. For your choice:

ceramic vases with hieroglyphs or other thematic images, preferably handmade;
traditional tea set;
fans;
painted boxes;
Japanese dolls in kimono;
one or two watercolor paintings depicting sakura, hieroglyphs - more typical for modern stylizations.

Features of Japanese style during renovation

The idea of maximum environmental friendliness and natural simplicity permeates the entire Japanese interior style, including finishing materials for walls, floors and ceilings.

Walls. It is best to decorate them with boards made of light wood or materials that imitate a coating of rice paper, bamboo, or straw. Wallpaper is most often used - their choice is huge, and finding a suitable option is quite easy. Modern styling allows the use of paint and plaster, but keep in mind that they should not have a glossy sheen! Such laconic surfaces will be perfectly complemented by wooden beams and bamboo stems.

Ceiling. It can be simply painted or plastered, covered with boards. The decoration will be wooden beams in a contrasting color. A more complex solution is to create a multi-level structure from plasterboard.

Floor. Can be used here cork covering, parquet or laminate (as a last resort). Be sure to use thin mats.

Space zoning

It so happened historically that in a Japanese house there are no capital walls and partitions that are familiar to us. They are replaced by a variety of screens and light sliding doors. In a modern apartment, you are unlikely to be able to remove partitions, unless we are talking about a studio apartment, where there are practically no partitions. But disguise them lightweight structures in the chosen style you can easily.

The materials for making screens and partitions are bamboo or light wood. Translucent fabric, paper or canvas is stretched between frames made from them. This is ideal. Today, frosted glass is often used. Please note: partitions do not prevent the spread of light in the room, they only slightly diffuse and muffle it.

Lighting

Lighting in such an interior is given special attention. Firstly, there should be a lot of light, and secondly, it should be soft and slightly dim. Modern wooden or bamboo blinds and roller blinds made of translucent fabrics meet these requirements.

However, the most common option is panel curtains, which are even called “Japanese”. They are made of fabric that is stretched tightly between the top and bottom rails. With the right selection of material, the product will look like original curtains made of rice paper.

Facade country house in Japanese style is as laconic as the interior. No decorative elements or complex structures. Clean lines, simplicity, large windows, minimum quantity partitions, sufficient space - this is how your home should be. Even the color scheme is preserved - brown, beige, cream and milky tones are the priority.

Construction materials are only natural - wood, stone. Of course, you won’t cover the roof with thatch, but tiles will work just fine. The front of the structure is supported and framed by a frame structure made of wooden beams. Typically a house has 1-2 floors or one floor and an attic.

Pay special attention to the area around the house. It should be well-groomed and equally laconic. Flower beds with clear boundaries, mostly straight lines, a small artificial pond and a gazebo - a wonderful ensemble with the house.

Why Japan, like its culture, has always been a mysterious and alluring country for Europeans, deserving close attention. The space of the inhabitants of the islands is quite limited, and over many years they have adapted to planning their homes in a special way.

They learned to plan economically and clearly, rationally using all available space. What features do Japanese houses have, and what distinguishes and characterizes this unusual style for us? A Japanese residential house is called “minka”, which literally means “house of people” in Japanese. But there is another traditional type of house in the country, intended for ritual activities. It's called a pagoda.

A huge part of the Japanese used to live in modest wooden houses. Some of them have been perfectly preserved to this day. Of course, for today's residents they are no longer relevant. Most of them live in small private cottages or in modern multi-apartment high-rise buildings.

What did a traditional minka look like and what did it consist of?

The base of the house, or its skeleton, was made of wood.
The outside walls were lined with bamboo and plastered.
Instead of walls inside the building, special sliding screens were used.
Tatami mats and musiro mats were used for making.

Depending on the region, the design of buildings could change, some things were improved over time.

But the main thing remained the same - it was inexpensive and as simple housing as possible, capable of protecting the family from bad weather.

Richer people, merchants and wealthy peasants, could use more expensive materials– burnt tiles, quality wood, durable stone.

Today, Japanese minka is rather a tradition that is of great interest to many visitors.

Features of a traditional Japanese house

Signs of a traditional Japanese home

Minimalism– one of the main signs of a house in which absolutely everything is thought out, functional and rational.

There is nothing superfluous here; conciseness and simplicity are valued.
Here, by definition, chaos, chaos, and accumulation of unnecessary things are impossible.
You will not find in such a home or closet cluttered with unfashionable clothes, broken equipment, skis and old bicycles.
Minimalism is present in everything, both in the design of the house outside and in the last corner inside.

Functionality

In a typical Japanese home, there cannot be any unusable space by definition.
Every tiny area of the area is carefully thought out.
In this country, most homes are traditionally small in size, so homeowners have to make the most of all available square footage.
Only necessary household appliances, functional: residents try to remove and close all things and objects so that nothing is in sight, does not interfere or disturb the overall style of the home.

Minimum furniture

Screen doors

It is not so often possible to see our traditional ones in a Japanese home.
Typically, such houses use screens, sliding doors and lungs.
The basic principles that the islanders try to adhere to are convenience and comfort, careful attitude to space and as little noise as possible.

There are no strong walls

A typical Japanese-style house does not have solid and strong structures.
It is compact and quite lightweight.
Its walls are thin and have small walls.
Typical country house usually a simple quadrilateral.
Role interior walls ok, special movable partitions play a role. They can be swapped at will, decorating your home in different ways.
The Japanese use high-quality plastic or frosted tempered glass as internal partitions of their homes.
In the old days, special screens were made from processed rice paper, which was then decorated with fancy patterns.
It is precisely the lack of fundamental stationary partitions inside the house makes such a home dynamic and mobile, and its interior alive and changing.
The design of the room can always be changed according to the mood, the number of inhabitants or the season.
You can play up your living space by making rooms smaller or larger.

Transformable house and other quirks

A Japanese house is a kind of transformer, which its inhabitants can easily adapt to their own needs.
The roofs of Japanese houses traditionally have a very slight slope. Thanks to this, the structure looks wide and rather squat.
The entire interior space of such a home is as open as possible. It is unlikely that you will find many small rooms, nooks and tiny storage rooms there. Even in small house There is always a lot of free space.
The walls of Japanese-style houses are usually decorated with paintings. This could be a blooming branch of Japanese cherry in an elegant dark frame, which should have a rectangular shape. Local design does not welcome flashy and pretentious frames with various curls.

Famous feng shui

Feng Shui symbols are usually used to decorate a Japanese home, including various amulets and exquisite figurines.
But all the decor is used in small quantities - local design is intolerant of excesses.
There must certainly be living plants in the house, especially for a wooden one-story building.
This can be an elegant bonsai in emphatically simple but sophisticated pots. Often in a home here you can see a miniature plum or pine tree, differing from the real one only in size.

Niches and partitions

A common feature of Japanese houses is small wall niches.
Traditionally, carefully selected items and small items that do not fall out of the general style are placed in them.
Very often, original stained glass is used here to decorate various objects and partitions.

Textiles and light

Textiles in Japanese interiors are used to the bare minimum.
Fabric curtains often replace comfortable bamboo blinds.
You will also rarely find expensive bedspreads and carpets here.
Stylish, comfortable mats have been completely replaced, beds are covered with thick fabric in calm tones without bright patterns.
Islanders do not like the dead white light of modern lamps: they can use it at work or in the office.
For home comfort, they prefer soft, warm, warming tones.

Special Akari lamps were created for warming comfort. Perhaps such a device can be found in every Japanese country house.

Materials for houses using Japanese technology

Local residents prefer natural materials, both for the construction of the buildings themselves and for their decoration.

What materials do the Japanese love more than others??

Tree

Stone

Stone is also often used to build houses.
In the Land of the Rising Sun, a unique philosophy of stone is very popular. According to it, minerals are like the highest creations of omnipotent nature.
The stone is hard, indestructible, silent and independent.

The stone is virtually invulnerable, and has many other qualities beyond the control of humans. Therefore, it is actively used for finishing the outside of the house and in interior design.

Your own stone house outside the city, with wooden elements, is the dream of any local resident.

Other materials

Other materials are also active in the architecture and design of traditional houses:

rattan,
sisal,
jute,
straw and so on.

These materials are used to make rugs, mats, window curtains and other textiles. Such products are much nicer than heavy, dusty curtains. Japanese analogues do not accumulate dust, they are perfectly cleaned and washed with the simplest means.

Japanese home decoration: colors used

What color combinations are more typical for decorating the inside and outside of traditional Japanese homes?

The fundamental principle when choosing a color is its naturalness.
The main thing in the interior here is natural shades.
It is unlikely that you will find avant-garde acid or neon tones or flashy color combinations here.
Traditional Japanese interior in the usual style, he tends more towards calm and classic color combinations.
Colors are very relevant natural materials– sand, wood, stone, etc.

Being surrounded by natural colors promotes relaxation, calms and calms.

Black is also often used. Often the design uses very dark shades of different colors: gray, brown, red.

Not alien to the inhabitants of the islands and gentle pastel colors– milky white, beige, cream. A soft reddish brown is often used. The design of the home looks great, in which the colors are combined elegantly and contrastingly. There they formalize and outer part at home, and

At the heart of individual residential construction Japan is based on the principles of minimalism (almost asceticism) and closeness to nature. They have remained unchanged for many centuries, unlike the technology of building houses. Adjustments are being made to traditional solutions modern technologies and living conditions.

Traditional Japanese house

The traditional Japanese house (minka) in what is now Japan is represented by only a few museums. However, these buildings, although they are actually a thing of the past, are an integral part of the architecture and culture of this country.

An excursion into the history of Japanese houses

Traditional houses are simple one- or two-story frame buildings made of wood, paper, straw, clay, and bamboo. The higher the status of a resident of the country, the more expensive the materials were used, the brighter the facade was decorated. It is the elements of rich houses and temples that make the Japanese style in architecture recognizable.

Technology frame construction has long been used in earthquake-prone Japan. The buildings erected on it were characterized by increased stability, gave a chance of survival in the event of a collapse, and they could be quickly restored.

On architectural features Japanese frame wood influenced and climatic conditions countries. On most islands of the Japanese archipelago, winter is quite mild. Along with the idea of closeness to nature, this determined the design of the walls.

In traditional Japanese houses there was only one blank wall, where the space between the supports was filled with grass and covered with clay. The rest were sliding or removable panels made of light wooden frame covered with rice paper. The frame did not suffer from their removal and the integrity of the structure was not compromised. At the same time, the house was well illuminated by the sun, and the boundary between it and nature was erased.

Design features of houses

Japanese frames, which were built decades and centuries ago, were very different from modern houses. They were characterized by the following features:

The frame of a house is a system of supports and beams connected without nails. They used them instead complex technology cutting beams, logs.
The center of the building is a pillar resistant to earthquakes.
The roof is two- or four-slope. Protrudes beyond the external walls at a distance of up to one meter. This protects the façade from exposure to precipitation and sunlight.
Raised on half a meter from the ground floor level. This was done in order to provide ventilation to the lower tier of the building and retain heat during the cold season. For Japanese people who sleep on a mattress instead of a regular bed, this is important.

Traditional Japanese houses were far ahead of their time. The basic ideas of their construction form the basis of modern frame technologies. One of them is naturally called “Japanese”.

Interior of a traditional house

In traditional Japanese houses there were no clear divisions into rooms. The most free, open space could be transformed at will with the help of light fusuma screens. So, large room where guests were received during the day, in the evening they were divided into a bedroom and a study using screens.

With such mobility, there was no talk of large, heavy furniture. Instead of cabinets for storing clothes and household items, we used:

niches disguised by the same screens;
baskets;
chests;
wicker boxes;
low cabinets with drawers.

The mattress served as a sleeping place futon, and the floors were covered with hard straw mats - tatami.

The dining room, kitchen, and utility rooms were equipped in close proximity to the large clay oven.

The finishing materials were: thick white paper, wooden boards, plaster. The twilight of the rooms was slightly diluted by a lamp in a paper lampshade, called an okiandon.

Modern Japanese house

Modern Japanese houses in the individual housing sector are also being built according to frame technologies. However, on their appearance influence fashion trends and the use of the latest façade materials.

Frame construction in Japanese

A modern Japanese house almost always looks like a European one. But you can recognize it by the laconic, smooth surface of the external walls; abundance of light-transmitting glass; clear geometric shapes.

The characteristic idea of closeness to nature is embodied in the form of terraces and balconies with a glass parapet.

In the construction of modern frame houses The following features can be distinguished in Japan:

The foundation is a monolithic “insulated Swedish slab”, which in general is a “pie” made of insulation and a layer of concrete on it.
The floor, as in a traditional house, is raised above ground level. Only now they do it by mounting it on foundation slab concrete “ribs” 50 cm high.
External walls are insulated with sprayed polyurethane foam.
On the warmest islands, as in traditional buildings, there is no central heating. He is being replaced infrared panels, electric and gas heaters.

A beautiful Japanese-style house today is a unique intricacy of traditions and the results of scientific and technological progress.

Evolution of the interior - what has changed

In the last 30-40 years, the Japanese way of life has changed. The interior has also changed residential buildings. It has become more European. Due to this:

The area of premises for household needs has been reduced.
Rooms have become personal spaces with a clearly defined functional purpose.
Tall furniture with legs appeared.
The rooms were divided into “Western” (in the center of the house) and “Japanese” (in the depths of the building), where the interior is kept strictly in traditional style.
Tatami is being replaced with modern floor coverings, as they cannot withstand the load from furniture with legs.
Dark wood in the interior gives way to light wood, and plaster gives way to wallpaper with a similar texture.

You can build a residential building or decorate its rooms in the classic Japanese style if you were born in Japan and the culture of this country is not alien to you. Otherwise, style the space as open as possible with accent pieces, from decor to furniture.

Video: traditional Japanese house

Fashion for a house or home decorated in unusual style, has always existed. But the case of houses built with claims to the Japanese style is slightly different from the options for imitating Italian, French or Dutch architecture. Western houses have always been the epitome of practicality and adaptation to the local climate.

The traditional Japanese house was the calling card of the family living in it, and in most cases was created not with the goal of achieving maximum living comfort, but as a continuation of the traditions and complex worldviews of a centuries-old culture.

What is Japanese architecture

Even an ordinary person, far from the originality of the Japanese style, once looking at a Japanese temple, pagoda or old house a samurai will confirm that it is unusual and beautiful. To create a Japanese-style home, you need a little:

The project takes into account the basic, understandable to us, canons and rules of the Japanese tradition;
Give the building classical features and design elements to emphasize that the architecture of the house belongs to the Japanese style;
Decorate the space around the house in accordance with the requirements of Japanese architectural tradition and style. The territory, vegetation, and landscape are ideally an organic continuation of the Japanese house.

Important! When building a house in the Japanese tradition, it is very important to copy not the elements of the building, but their design style. It is extremely difficult to build a real Japanese house due to the huge number of details and nuances. Moreover, for a Western person such a home is not always convenient and understandable. It is much easier to create Japanese style house designs.

Differences and features of a Japanese-style house

A real traditional Japanese house is a little different from the designs we know from films and photos. Those examples of Japanese architecture and style that we know belong to the family estates and castles of wealthy people, high-ranking dignitaries, military leaders and clergy in ancient Japan.

They became the basis for the creation of modern Japanese-style houses. Classic Japanese houses in different parts Japan differed in some details, but all were built according to the same laws:

The territory on which the house or temple was located was always surrounded by a protective fence and had a large number of plantings, planted in strict accordance with established rules, paths and auxiliary objects;
The house had an open and closed part, designed in the form of several terraces, directly in front of the house there was always open area or pond;
The walls of the house had a large number vertical racks, which supported the massive roof, and windows, which provided normal lighting in most interior spaces.
The main part of the house was installed on wooden stilts with two or three stacked supports made of natural stone. This is also a Japanese style of providing thermal insulation and protection from dampness and flood water.

For your information! The most recognizable element of a Japanese house is the specific curved shape of the roof. It is this element that has become decisive for any house built in the Japanese style.

Basic elements of a Japanese style home

The first thing that makes a house in a characteristic Japanese style so recognizable and original is the roof of the building. The roof design is in many ways reminiscent of elaborate Chinese roofs, but simpler and more practical.

Of the European roofing designs, the ones closest to the Japanese style are Danish and Dutch. hip roofs, also designed for large amounts of precipitation and strong winds from the sea.

Therefore, in a house built in the Japanese style, the roof is always built with a negative curvature of the slopes, as in the photo. Traditionally, in the roof of a Japanese-style house, the roof slopes had several tiers, two or three.

With this roof design, snow and moisture did not linger on the roof for a long time, which significantly reduced the load on the very heavy and massive rafter system. The long overhangs of the rafter legs were used as suspension points for lighthouse lanterns, which could be used to navigate the estate at night in conditions of pitch darkness.

The oriental style is characterized by very large and long roof overhangs, especially at the corners and above the entrance to the house. In this way, they tried to divert rain and melt water as far as possible from the foundation and walls of the house.

The second, most recognizable element of the house, characteristic of the Japanese style, was open terraces and a large number of vertical posts and supports that hold the roof and give rigidity to the walls of the house.

In the past, this technique made it possible to strengthen the walls of a house with a large number of huge window openings, decorative screens that cover the interior space from prying eyes. Now it's only decorative element, inherent in the traditional style of building design, photo.

House in classic style always complemented by a huge canopy over the entrance or side of the building. Traditionally, a place under a canopy or on a large terrace was the main location during daylight hours.

IN modern building this is a beautiful attribute of a Japanese-style house, photo. Terraces surrounded the perimeter of the house, in some cases at least ¾ of the entire space. This was convenient in the old days, and in the same way they emphasize style in modern buildings.

Traditionally, in the Japanese value system, the home was both a temple and a place for ordinary human activities. Therefore, as in many others oriental styles, in the courtyard of the house there may be a chapel, figures and religious objects next to ordinary everyday things and objects.

Such a house was always built from wood, stone, paper, and fabrics. Therefore in modern interiors and design solutions in the Japanese style, even plastic and synthetic materials Most often they are designed and decorated to look like wood and stone. But, given the great interest in environmentally friendly projects and decorative materials, the interior and exterior of the building in a traditional style only benefits from this.

The third specific attribute of a house in a traditional design style is the ability to decorate and create very beautiful landscape on local area. It could be a series of bushes unusual shape, or trees, as in the photo, a fancifully laid out garden of stone and ornamental plants, a small pond with a miniature waterfall. Traditionally, Japanese pine was used - bonsai, which was planted at the entrance to the house and along the paths.

The decorative lawn or rock garden in the house was always complemented by a large platform, on which, in fact, all the main events in the estate took place. Visually, such an addition increased the size of the estate and was a sign of the owner’s high position. In a modern style, the site is traditionally used as a parking place.

Today the territory of the estate is classic version must be equipped with gates and a high fence, which uses thin steel tubular fences covered with dense bushes. But in budget options, the house is simply surrounded by a high stone wall.

Japanese style house interior

Traditional arrangement internal space the house can be called quite minimalistic and strict. Following traditions, the house should have a minimum amount of furniture and objects. The interior walls of the house are usually decorated with engravings and drawings in the style of graphics and ink painting on silk.

Japanese style in the interior it requires a lot of light and free space, so you can rarely see tall trees or heavily overgrown bushes in front of the windows of the house. At night, due to the large number of lights, the building seems to consist entirely of windows.

Quite unusually designed ceiling. In a classic house, floor and roof beams often served as a frame and pantry, a place to store a large amount of food and various items. Today, only symbolic elements of the frame remain from the old tradition.

The most important element of the interior was the floor and flooring. The floor was always made from the strongest and hardest type of wood, and after assembly it was polished with wax to a shine. In a modern interpretation, natural oak and cedar are used, less often laminate or carpeting that imitates traditional bamboo mats. Light paper and fabric screens were used for partitions and interior walls in the house, which are now being successfully replaced decorative panels with the texture of silk and bamboo frames.

Conclusion

The beauty of a house built in the Japanese style is very specific and interesting; it is very difficult for European standards to adapt to modern interpretations of the cultural traditions of Japan, so often, even in Europe or Asia, such houses have only a superficial resemblance to the basic architectural solutions of a Japanese estate. Interior arrangement home is most often adjusted to the needs, habits and preferences of the owners, which does not prevent them from considering their home to correspond to the classical canons.