There were two categories of houses in ancient Japan, "pit-dwelling houses" and "elevated houses". During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japanese buildings began to be influenced by western architecture. This displaced the traditional architecture of Japan in larger public buildings.
The houses of common people developed differently. Village houses were spacious so people kept their cattle and horses indoors. Most were houses in city were long and narrow as taxes were levied based on the how wide the front side of the house was.
Early Japanese houses had thin walls and curved roofs. These roofs were usually slanted and overlapping in nature. As the country received heavy rains especially in summer, these roofs helped drain water. |
