Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan/Series 1/Volume 2/Constructive Art in Japan
CONSTRUCTIVE ART IN JAPAN.
BY
R. HENRY BRUNTON, Esq.,
MEM. INS. C.E. F.R.G.S., E.G.S.
Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan,
on the 22nd December, 1873.
———o———
The accounts of Japan which at the present time are generally spread throughout Europe, are so exaggerated, that both the natural beauties and wealth of the country as well as its genuine condition and the progress which it has made, are greatly over-estimated by those who have not had an opportunity of visiting the country and of judging of them for themselves. Every one, therefore, who comes to Japan is led to expect too much, and there are few who on arrival do not experience feelings of disappoinment. And it is probable that nothing developes these feelings more fully than the absence of those artificial improvements which are generally met with in all civilised countries. The dwellings of the people are of mean appearance, and are generally without ornament or adornment of any kind. They are built in a temporary and unsubstantial manner, and are to a great extent wanting in the comforts which are ordinary in all European houses. The streets in the principal towns, as well as the country roads, are rutted, uneven and perfectly untended; and although gravel is sometimes used, the roads are generally merely formed of the earth or clay through which they pass. There is almost an entire absence of drainage and the refuse water from the houses is allowed to spread itself over the streets. The rain water has no means of egress, and lies in pools until it has time to sink into the earth or is evaporated.
It is further impossible to repress a feeling of disappointment when we turn to the religious monuments of the country. The temples are stately, they are generally exquisitely ornamented, and are certainly built in a more stable and substantial manner than the other erections around them. But there is so great a sameness about them that it seems as if the original designer had made a groove so deep that all the intellectual power of the Japanese could not raise their architects out of it.
That earthquakes are prevalent throughout the whole of Japan is a fact which, in the minds of many, has affected the whole system of building in Japan, and has prevented the development of the native talent for construction. This is looked upon as sufficient reason for the absence of stone erections or buildings of solidity and durability. But if earthquakes have exercised this influence over the Japanese mind, the people have been influenced by false premises; as I think that to imagine that slight buildings, such as are seen here, are the best calculated to withstand an earthquake shock is an error of the most palpable kind. Now that foreigners have introduced a different system of building the present Japanese have no hesitation in adopting it, and edifices of any size or material are now erected with their approval. No objection is ever made on account of earthquakes, and on these grounds I am of opinion that at all events the present race have not that dread of earthquakes which would lead them to eschew solid constructions, and we must seek at some other source the reasons for the want of progress in the art of builing.
The whole country is subject to earthquakes, and there is hardly an island or a province of Japan that has not at some time or other suffered from their effects. Through the courtesy of certain Japanese officials I have been put in possession of some information, which I have every reason to believe to be correct, regarding the destructive earthquakes which have occurred. From this I gather that the country is becoming more and more liable to them and that they have steadily increased in number during the last few centuries. Thus there was but one destructive earthquake in the 5th century, which happened in the year 415; none other is known to have occurred till the 10th century; one more occurred in the 11th century, another in the 13th, 2 in the 16th, 10 in the 17th, 13 in the 18th and 15 in what has already passed of the 19th century. The average of this century therefore has been one destructive earthquake in every 5 years, while 300 years ago there was but one in 50 years. The following is a list of the most destructive which have occurred throughout the country.
In the 15th year of the reign of the 20th Emperor—in the year 415.—a destructive earthquake happened.
Another in the year 937, another in the year 1021, and another in the year 1292, which was felt worst at Kamakura.
One felt worst at Tsuruga and Totomi in the year 1588.
One which destroyed many houses and took many lives at Kioto and Fushimi in the year 1595.
One at Yedo which destroyed the Castle and many Daimios’ residences in the year 1647.
Another at Yedo which knocked down many houses and killed a great number of people in the year 1649.
One in the province of Iyo which brought down the retaining walls of the Castle of Matsi-yama and destroyed many houses in Uwadjima in the year 1649.
One severely felt throughout the 8 provinces surrounding Yezo in the Year 1650.
One which partially destroyed the Castle of the Mikado at Kioto and ruined the castle of Nijo in the year 1661.
One felt in the province of Echingo in the year 1661.
One felt in the Island of Yezo in the your 1662.
One which again partially destroyed the castle of Nijo near Kioto when the shocks lasted for 8 hours in the year 1662.
One felt at Niko in the year 1682.
One felt at Diwa in the year 1693.
One felt throughout the 8 provinces surrounding Yedo. Walls of outside and inside moats of Castle of Yedo destroyed. Felt very severely at Odawara where many houses were destroyed and numbers of people killed. Tidal waves also broke along the coast at the same time and caused enormous destruction. The road leading through the Hakoné pass closed up by the alteration in the surface of the earth in the year 1702.
One severely felt in Yedo in the year 1715.
One felt throughout the 15 provinces surrounding Kioto—when many parts of the earth opened up—and enormous tidal waves occurred in the year 1716.
One felt severely in the neighbourhood of Fusiyama. At this time, which was on the 22nd of the 11th month, fire burst from a place called Moto hashiri kuchi at the base of Fusiyama—there was a fearful noise like thunder, and a black gritty sand was thrown into the air which caused darkness to come over the whole surrounding country. Even in Yedo lanterns were used in day time. During the night of the 22nd this continued, but on the morning of the 23rd the sky was seen. On the 25th darkness again came on, black sand fell like rain and it only cleared up again on the 28th. A small mountain rose up on the side of Fusiyama at this time which has been called Ho-yae-san from the period in which the occurrence took place which was in the year 1716.
One felt at Nagasaki when there were more than 80 shocks in one day and night in the year 1725.
One felt in the province of Echingo which occurred during a heavy storm of wind and rain. The Earth is said to have opened up and belched forth water so that the plains were like rivers, and men, horses, cattle and all animals in the neighbourhood were drowned in the year 1726.
Once felt at Kioto in the year 1750.
One felt in the province of Echingo when the earth trembled 30 times in 20 hours, a hill was cracked, the earth opened and 16,300 lives were lost in the year 1750.
One felt at Awomori when the falling houses took fire and caused the death of a great many people in the year 1765.
One felt in Yedo in the year 1770.
One felt in Yedo during the same year 1770.
One felt in Yedo in the year 1782.
Frequent severe earthquakes in Yedo in the year 1789.
One felt at Diwa when both the hills and the plains were cracked and the earth opened up in the year 1803.
One felt in the Island of Sado when there were cunstant shocks for 19 days from the 1st of the 1st month to the 18th of the 6th month in the year 1809.
One felt in the vicinity of Yedo, but worst at Kanagawa and Hodongaya, where many houses were destroyed in the year 1811.
One felt in the district of Kioto in the year 1818.
One felt in Oshiu in Yezo when the earth shook more than 150 times in the year 1821.
Frequent severe earthquakes at Yedo in spring time in the year 1824.
Frequent severe earthquakes at Yedo in autumn of same year 1824.
One felt in the province of Echingo in the year 1827.
One felt at Kioto when the Mikado’s residence, many of the temples and the Castle of Nijo were destroyed. The earthquakes commenced on the 2nd of the 7th month, they partially discontinued on the 20th of the 8th month, but were not entirely quiet until the following year, in the year 1829.
One felt in the vicinity of Fusiyama in the year 1833.
One felt in Sendai when the castle was destroyed and great destruction was caused by tidal waves in the year 1833.
One felt in the province of Shinano which destroyed many temples and houses numbering in all about 5,000—700 people were killed und 1,460 wounded. The earth opened and swallowed 16 houses—in the year 1846.
One felt at Kioto and Osaka—in the year 1851.
Frequent earthquakes throughout the 8 provinces surrounding Yedo, which were also felt at Kioto and in the Islands of Sikok and Kiusiu. The earth was not quiet for one year—in the year 1854.
The most recent which has happened was most severely felt at Yedo, where the trembling of the earth continued for one month and gave 80 severe shocks. Many houses were knocked down, their timbers took fire and conflagrations commenced at 45 different places. About 120,000 lives were supposed to have been lost. This occurred in the year 1855.
Those parts of Japan most subject to earthquakes are, strange to say, the vicinities of the two capitals. Thus out of the 43 severe earthquakes which have taken place during the last 600 years, 9 have occurred at Kioto and 13 at Yedo. The province of Echingo is next in numbers and has had four earthquakes. Yezo has been visited twice, as also Diwa and the neighbourhood of Fusiyama—while Nagasaki, Sado, Sendai, &c. have only suffered from one disturbance.
But, while the country, as is abundantly shewn above, is liable to very severe and an increasing number of earthquakes, the system of construction in the buildings has not been well devised to withstand such visitations. The more solidity and weight in a building and the greater its inertia, the less liable it is to derangement from a sudden movement of its foundations; but, at the same time, it is essential that the strength and connection of the materials in the walls should be proportionate to their weight and mass. As a general principle preference should be given, both on account of durability and stability, to the adhesion of bricks or stone and mortar in a solid well built wall, over ordinary wooden buildings. It might be that a wooden erection could be constructed with its frame work so tied and braced together as to render it almost perfectly secure against any earthquake, short of an upheaval or breach in the surface of the earth; but this would be an expensive, thriftless and impracticable style of construction. Whereas on the other hand, a stone erection need not he more than ordinarily massive to make it capable of resisting any shock not of extraordinary violence. But in stone houses it is absolutely necessary that the masonry should be executed in a proper manner, the great point to which attention must be given being that a perfect bond is maintained throughout the entire building. Mr. Mallet in his history of the Neapolitan earthquake of 1857 gives many proofs of the truth of this. He says—“When the masonry consisted of round lumpy quadrated ovoids of soft limestone, the whole dislocation occurred through the enormously thick ill-filled mortar joints and almost all buildings thus formed fell together in the first movement in indistinguishable ruin”—“Where the masonry was of the best class, and such as would be so recognized in England, the buildings thus constructed stood uninjured in the midst of chaotic ruin. Some examples of this will be found in the second part, none more striking than the Campanile of Atena, a square tower of 90 feet in height and 22 feet square at the base, in which there was not even a fissure while all around nearly was prostrate.” “Indeed it was evident that had the towns generally been substantially and well built or rather the materials scientifically put together, very few buildings would have actually been shaken down even in those localities where the shocks were most violent. Thus the frightful loss of life and limb were as much to be attributed to the ignorance and imperfection displayed in the domestic architecture of the people, as to the unhappy natural condition of their country as regards earthquakes.” A very striking example of the advantage of solid construction over lightness and want of strength was seen not many years ago at Manila, when an earthquake levelled almost the entire town and left the Stone Lighthouse at the harbour, which is a column of masonry of great height, standing by itself perfectly unharmed. From the vast and handsome edifices which may be seen in most countries in Europe liable to earthquakes, we may conclude that their inhabitants have acknowledged the correctness of this principle, and it cannot therefore be urged on sound grounds that it is owing to the liability of Japan to earthquakes that its people have never desired or made an effort to build other than wooden houses or to make these of any but of the most flimsy description.
The general poverty of the people and their extremely simple habits may account for the simplicity of their dwellings, and as their habits become more refined and luxurious it is very probable that the internal comforts of their houses will also improve. Six hundred years ago the dwellings of the English were constructed in the roughest manner of wood and clay. The inmates ate and slept in one room and privacy was perfectly unknown. In the beginning of the 15th century the houses began to be divided into rooms and private appartments. Shortly afterwards glass windows and chimneys were introduced, and stone buildings were erected the ruins of some of which are in existence at the present day. Gradually improvements were one by one effected, until the modern English residence was produced.
At present in Japanese houses there is a want of privacy, for although there are apartments, they are separated from one another by paper partitions which accomplish their purpose only in name. There are no healthy or safe means of artificially heating the houses, and chimneys have never been adopted. There is an entire absence of glazing, and the light finds its way into the houses through the paper windows. These paper windows generally compose a great part of the walls of the houses,—and as they are very slightly made and do not shut closely up the houses are extremely cold and unhealthy in winter. During six months of the year in the greater part of Japan the weather is such as to require properly shut-up houses with good fires, and although during the other six months considerable heat prevails, it cannot be said that the style of building is at all suitable for the climate of the country.
The construction of the houses is of an extremely fragile and temporary nature. The structures consist of wooden uprights resting generally on rough, round stones. These support the roof, the main beams of which are formed of very large timbers put in their place in their natural state, and without being squared or cleaned. The covering to the roof consists either of thatch, of tiles, or of shingles alone, and in putting these on the workmen are very expert. There are no diagonal struts between the uprights in the frame of the house, and no other means adopted to strengthen or stiffen it. The roof trusses are formed of one square frame built on top of another of a larger size until the apex is reached.
Thus, with its unnecessarily heavy roof and weak framework, it is a structure of all others the worst adapted to withstand a heavy earthquake shock. I should not forget to mention the fire-proof stores of the Japanese. These are buildings with a wooden framework of a better description, which is covered with sometimes as many as 50 coats of mud plaster, but generally with not more than 25 coats. They sometimes have a plaster roof and sometimes an ordinary tile roof. The plaster is of a thickness of from 1 to 2 feet, and the doors and window shutters are frames of wood covered with plaster in the same way. These stores, as is well known, have been found remarkably efficient in resisting fire.
On account of the simplicity of their construction and their general similarity very little can be said regarding the temples of Japan in a paper such as this, which is devoted merely to a description of the art of building. The manner of their ornamentation and history of their contents would form the subject for a separate and a very interesting paper. The foundations consist generally of square stones on which the uprights rest. These are of kiaké and are connected together at various intervals by longitudinal waling pieces. The roof is formed in a similar manner to the ordinary dwelling house roofs, but the wood in the beams is generally of kiaké and of great size. The roofs, are generally thatched with the hark of the shinoki tree, or with a grass named kai-a which is put on to a thickness of, at times, three feet, in some instances they are covered with sheet copper, and in the case of the smaller temples, tiles are often used. The casing of the walls is thick Kiaké planking on the outside and sometimes thinner Shinoké planks as a lining on the inside. The outside is generally ornamented by panels of carved work illustrative of some legend or romance of the religion to which the temple was dedicated. The projecting ends of the beams of the roof have often some fantastic device carved on them, and are sometimes merely covered with copper to protect them from the effects of the weather. The joints of the various beams are also covered with copper. The timbers used in the structure are joined together by mortices, scarfs or dovetails in such a way that metal fixings are seldom required and, with the exception of a few small nails, are but little used. But there is the same want of diagonal struts or ties in the framework of the temples as in the framewark of the dwelling-houses, and while the execution of the practical carpentry is generally excellent and the wood always of the best description, the manner of their construction is, in this respect, decidedly faulty. There are many temples in Japan from 200 to 300 years old, such as Shiba in Yedo which is 270 years old, and the wood used in them is still fresh and sound. A very fine modern specimen exists at Naruto about 30 miles to the North East of Yedo which is much thought of, and which was only built 18 years ago, but neither do the principles nor the details of its construction differ in any way from the ordinary specimens.
In some branches of carpentry the Japanese are very expert, and as their buildings are almost entirely of wood the concentrated energy of the people seems to have been devoted to this branch of building. The neatness of their work is very noticeable, the joints of the timbers are made with the greatest nicety, and as paint is never used, these are exposed, and are so made an object of especial care. The frames of their paper windows are generally models of delicate workmanship and the carved ornamentation in their houses or temples is generally beautifully executed. But when we come to the higher branches of carpentry, such as the arrangement of various beams so that they will be best adapted to bear the strains which are likely to come upon them, or a combination of timbers which will form a stiff, strong, and reliable structure, or the selection of the proper size of wood to stand the different strains which it will have to bear, then we find the Japanese very deficient. The carpenters do not seem to have any appreciation of the disposition of strains in any framework, and where enormous timbers are placed they may be found resting on and sustained by beams not one quarter the size they should be. In their bridges the same incongruities may be observed; thus beams, which if properly fastened would form a tie and be a great support to the structure, may be observed secured in their places by wooden keys about one inch square which are not much stronger than a match. The workmen, however, are very skilful in the use of their tools. They only require explicit and detailed directions and they are then competent to execute any work in a very creditable manner. The woods generally used for building purposes in the southern parts of the country are not very varied. There is a great variety of very excellent woods in the island of Yezo, but these have not yet been introduced into this part of Japan. Kiaké is the commonest hard wood and is, generally speaking, a very serviceable timber. If cut when ripe, and at the proper season, the good qualities will last for centuries, proof of which is shewn in the older temples in the country, but there are great varieties of quality and it requires a very practised eye to pick out the good from the bad. The exigencies of the people are such that, in the absence of any regulations to the contrary, they do not hesitate to cut the wood at all seasons, or when they receive an order for it. Wood full of sap is therefore as common in the market as seasoned wood, and perhaps it is not until after some years that the quality of timber purchased is made evident by the decomposed sap oozing out of it like a black, tarry liquid. The fibres of the wood very soon after this occurs become rotten and the whole timber useless. Shinoké is the favorite soft wood of the Japanese, and is chiefly prized on account of the beauty of its grain and colour. It is also thought to be very lasting and is always used in erections which are intended to be durable. Sungi is a kind of cedar and grows in large quantities throughout the whole of Japan. There are many qualities of sungi, the best being almost as good in appearance as shinoki: it is however much cheaper. Sungi is principally used in the dwelling houses of the people which are only desired to be of an ordinary description. A cheaper wood which is used for more temporary erections is matsu, a sort of pine. This wood is also used in bridges as, being a long-fibred wood, it bears a considerable transverse strain, but it is by no means durable. Kuri, or horse chestnut, is a very hard wood which does not grow to any size and is principally used for piles below water. A wood very much resemling ash, named kashi, is used for boat’s oars, handles of implements, &c. Hiba is very lasting under water, and is also used for piles. Tsuga is a kind of shinoki but of very good quality. Momi is a cheap wood something resembling matsu and used for the same purposes.
There are various other woods grown in this part of Japan, but the above are those most commonly used for building purposes.
The following are the names of the Woods grown in the Island of Yezo—thirty-four in number, specimens of which I have received, and I have now the pleasure of presenting them to the Society. Sakura or common cherry tree, Shiki Sakura, a kind of cherry tree which is said to blossom in all seasons; Yanangi or Willow; Kada Sungi or Cedar; Kuwa or Mulberry tree; Ni-nga-noki or Mulberry tree; Momi or Pine; Kurumi or Walnut; Yezo-matz or Juniper; Kuri or Chestnut, Kutsura a sort of pine; Mom-i-ji or Maple; Kashiwa or Oak; Sugunara another kind of Oak; Ishi nara another kind of Oak; Hannoki or Alder; Hachigo Hannoki another kind of Alder; Shuro a Palmtree; Ho or Honobei, Yenju; Midzuki; Ouko, Aburangi; Tosen; Kisen Tani-chi-tamo; Aka-tamo; Nana kamado; Asada; Shinku; Itaya, Gambi; Doro, Shina.
The art of building in stone, of brickmaking, or an appreciation of the properties of lime has been very much neglected by the Japanese. Perhaps it would be too much to expect that the genius of the ancient Romans, to whom civilization is indebted for its present knowledge of building operations, should find its counterpart in Japan. Still if we consider that this country lays claim to a history of upwards of two thousand years, during the whole of which time it has been inhabited by the same intelligent race which at present occupy it, and if we compare the evidences of constructive ability to be seen in Japan with what may be seen in almost any other part of the civilized word, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the subject has never received that attention to which it is justly entitled, and that in consequence there has been an utter want of progress in Japan in the art of building. The liability of the country to periodical and violent earthquake disturbances may possibly have had an influence in deterring the people from the use of stone, but, if so, as I have already explained, I think it has been founded on false grounds.
The country is extremely well supplied with stone. Few districts of any extent are without it and even with the native means of conveyance stone might be procured in almost any town in Japan at a moderate price if the methods employed in quarrying it were more perfect. Along the whole course of the Inland Sea the formation is igneous and granitic and the stone of excellent quality. Many of the mountain ranges throughout the country are also composed of granite and excellent quarries exist at Mount Sekuba which is not more than 100 miles distant from Yedo and to which there is inland water communication the whole way. The other stones fit for building purposes consist principally of hard unstratified clay stones and stones of volcanic formation. These are found in various localities and especially at many points on the sea coast. There is a soft sandstone largely used in the neighbourhood of Yokohama, brought from the Provinces of Sagami and Boshu, which is evidently quite a recent formation and unfit for any building intended to be lasting. There is also a stone of white appearance much employed, but it is of little use except for the very questionable expedient adopted by foreigners here which makes it take the place of tiles and plaster as the outside casing for the walls of their wooden houses. The only really serviceable stones at present used in this neighbourhood are got from Idzu about 80 miles distant.
The stone erections which have been executed in Japan are very unimportant. On my making enquiries whether there were any stone houses in Yedo I was informed that the only one was a house built 100 years ago by Nakagawa, then Governor of Osaka. It is constructed of granite brought from the neighbourhood of Osaka, but as it is only 12 feet by 9 feet and 10 feet high it is not a very imposing erection.
If we go back as far as the period of the Pelasgic architecture which dates from 30 centuries ago when the Pelasgi erected throughout Asia Minor and the whole south of Europe those wonderful specimens of their constructive skill which still exist, and if we compare their system of masonry with what may be seen in Japan at the present day, we can appreciate the want of progress made in this country. The walls of the Pelasgic erections were formed of stones of immense size put together without mortar. The stones when taken from the quarries were cut into irregular polygons and placed together in such a manner as to make the different faces of the geometrical figures which they employed coincide. This system of building resembles very closely what is to be seen at the Castle of Osaka, or at the moats and gateways of the Castle of Yedo. But while the Pelasgi themselves gradually improved and adopted the use of square stones laid on a flat bed, while in later years the ancient Romans gave a further impetus to the science and have left such specimens of their skill and knowledge of the properties of materials as their aqueducts and great roads, the Japanese have not moved; they still employ the same crude systems of building in stone, and are still ignorant of the most rudimentary principles of this branch of constructive art. The old Roman arch which marks an era in the history of building has no place in Japan. There certainly exist at Nagasaki, Kagoshima and in other places in the south, several specimens of semicircular stone arches, but these were introduced by the Dutch residents and have never been largely adopted. In this also the Japanese have shewn a great want of appreciation of the art of building, and are behind their neighbours, the Chinese, in whose, country I understand miles of stone arches may be seen, some of which are of almost incredibly large span.
Such stone work as is executed in Japan is put together perfectly dry, and it is an extraordinary circumstance connected with this subject that the people appear to be quite ignorant of the cementing properties of lime or of the use of lime mortar.
The use of mortar dates from the period of the invention of the Roman Arch some centuries before Christ, and was commonly used by the Romans of those days; but even up to the present day, after some years of education by foreigners, Japanese workmen will persist in laying stones on top of one another without any substance between them to fill up irregularities or to cement one to the other. Solidity in their masonry is not considered necessary and the beds or joints of the stones are not made flat or even. The spaces between them are therefore large and are generally filled with pebbles which are all that keep the stones in their proper places. Not being acquainted with the use of common mortar it is unnecessary to say that they are also ignorant of the value of hydraulic mortar. The Romans also taught us a lesson in regard to this which I am astonished to say has not been followed even by ourselves to the extent which was possible. They mixed the lime with Puzzolana, or volcanic sand, which gave it the peculiar property of hardening under water; this mixed, with certain proportions of gravel, formed concrete which, being thrown into the sea between moulds, in a short space became so solid and hard wall. Various moles or piers exist executed by the ancient Romans in this way. In England where volcanic sand cannot be had, it has been discovered that a mixture of certain clays with lime has a similar and more perfect effect, and the mixtures so made are known as Portland or Roman Cement. In Japan large quantities of Puzzolana exist, and lime stone is also found in various localities, but I can learn of no instances where the mixture of the two was ever attempted. The principle of hydraulic cement is, however, known to the Japanese, and a substance which is formed by a mixture of lime and clay is often used by gardeners as a lining for fish ponds, and for other purposes, but the process of mixture is either defective or the materials used are not good, because although the cement hardens under water to some extent, it does not harden sufficiently and it further cracks and falls to pieces when exposed to frost. Though acquainted with the principle therefore the Japanese seem to have been unable to bring it to any practical result. A lime plaster is made which is tolerably efficient, and is formed by mixing lime with boiled seaweed. But in plastering a house the first coat consists of mud, generally procured from the bottom of some sluggish stream, the second coat of the same substance, this time mixed with sand presumably to harden it, and the lime plaster is then put on as the third coat, but so extremely thin that it is merely a veneer to the mud below it.
A curious system of building retaining walls, sea walls, or the face walls for any embankment or cutting, is so general throughout Japan that one is almost led to believe that the people had discovered some peculiar merit in it, although it is patently in contradiction to all our received notions of masonry. It consists of placing stones on one another which on their faces are square or nearly so but which are pyramidal in shape, and come to a point at their back. They rest at their faces on the thin ledge at the front of the stone and are supported at their backs by small stones loosely inserted, und the walls so built have generally a rubble backing about three or four feet thick. As a retaining wall or one which has to sustain a thrust of earth from behind such a system of building is in utter defiance of all the principles of mechanics, because the stones are like wedges placed the wrong way, they have absolutely nothing to keep them in their places, and any thrust from behind must inevitably dislodge them. As a sea wall it may have this advantage that a wave striking the stones from without acts like driving a wedge home, but it possess this great defect that it does not afford solidity or strength which is the great disederatum in any construction exposed to the force of waves. As a mere veneer on the banks of a canal or river to protect them from the action of the water, it may be efficient enough, but, if no more than this is required, an equally effectual and much cheaper method would be to line them with thin flags or wooden boarding. The Hatobas in Yokohama which have been broken up since they were erected by each heavy gale of wind that has occurred were built in this way. The retaining walls of the creek in Yokohama which were only built a year or two ago and parts of which come down with every heavy rain, were also built in the same way and it is so common and the native quarrymen are so accustomed to cut out those peculiar pyramidal stones that one of them can be bought at nearly one half the price of a square stone of the same cubical contents. The intention or the advantages of this shape of stone I have never been able to discover, and although I have made enquiries of officials acquainted with the processess of Japanese building in all parts of Japan I have never succeeded in getting a satisfactory reply.
This paper would not be complete unless I made some mention of the bronze images to be seen in various parts of Japan, principally because they are, without doubt, the most meritorious of all the attempts at construction which the Japanese have made. These stand out by themselves as evidences of a skill which it would be difficult to improve upon.
The mixing of the metals which compose bronze was practised in the earliest ages and the casting of bronze images or statues dates from many centuries before the Christian era. Ancient coins as far back as the time of Alexander the Great were made of bronze, and, from an analysis which has been made of them, they have been found to contain from 17 to 6 parts of copper to one part of tin with some other ingredients which it is not necessary to mention. Ornamental bronzes brought from Assyria have been found to contain 8 parts of copper to one part of tin. And the bronzes made in Europe of the present day consist generally of about the same proportion, viz., 8 parts of copper to one part of tin, and zinc or lead is sometimes added in quantities according to the purpose for which the alloy is to be used.
The Japanese Bronzes differ in an extraordinary way from all these. From what I can gather the mixture generally consists of the following parts.
To one part of gold there are added 3-9 parts of mercury, 33-65 parts of tin, and 1272 parts of copper.
There is therefore only 1 part of tin to 58-6 parts of copper, while the large quantities of gold and mercury, as far as I can discover, seem not to have been used by other people at all, and must add very much to the cost of the bronze.
The largest bronze image in Japan is at Nara some distance to the eastward of Kioto. This idol was first cast in the 18th year of Tempae in the year 743. It was twice destroyed during the time of wars in its neighbourhood, and the idol which at present exists was erected about 700 years ago. The casting of this idol was tried seven successive times before it was successful accomplished, and about 3,000 tons of charcoal were used in the operation. The total weight of metal is about 450 tons and it consists of the following ingredients:—
|
500 | lbs. | avoirdupois. | ||
|
16,827 | lbs.„ | avoirdupois.„ | ||
|
1,954 | lbs.„ | avoirdupois.„ | ||
|
986,080 | lbs.„ | avoirdupois.„ | ||
| 1,005,361 | lbs. |
|
5312 | feet. | ||
|
16 | feet.„ | ||
|
912 | feet.„ | ||
|
3.9 | feet.„ | ||
|
8.5 | feet.„ | ||
|
28.7 | feet.„ | ||
|
966 | curls. | ||
|
5.6 | ft. long. | ||
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5 | feet.„ |
The image is surrounded by a glory or halo 78 feet in diameter on which 16 images 8 feet long are cast.
There are two images standing in front of the larger idol each of which is 25 feet high.
The whole is enclosed in a temple 292 feet by 170 feet, and 156 feet high, the roof of which is supported by 176 pillars.
The various pieces composing the image are not fitted together in a very finished manner, but the cement keeps the joints perfectly tight and close. The whole construction is one which shows great skill and original genius in the mixure of the metals and in the methods of casting them, and it is further one which will, no doubt, be a source of pride and gratification to the Japanese people for many centuries to come.
In the beginning of this paper I referred to the conspicuous absence in this country of artificial improvements. These form, to a great extent, the work of the civil engineer, and it is interesting to examine to what extent the Japanese have mastered the various branches of science which are connected with that profession. In the means of internal communication the country is sadly deficient, and as these may be taken as the measure of a nation’s advance in civilization it seems remarkable that so little has been done by the present progressive race of Japanese to improve them. The roads throughout the country have not been formed with the intention of wheeled vehicles being used on them. Their surfaces are uneven and irregular, and little skill has been shewn in the choice of route so as to avoid hills or to get the best possible gradients.
There are many rivers which, if properly tended, would form excellent means of transport, but in some cases these have been neglected and in others treated in an erroneous manner. The Tone-gawa, the largest river in Japan, has a bar across its mouth on which there is not sufficient water to allow the native junks to pass over it. Inside the bar there is a considerable depth of water, and the river is navigable for small craft for more than 100 miles. The Shinano-gawa, the second largest river in the country, has 6 feet of water on its bar, and there is little doubt that this might be deepened with ease were proper means taken to effect this. It has been allowed to break through its original confines until it is in some places two or three times its proper width, and is so dammed back by shallows that in floods the water overflows the banks and spreads over hundreds of square miles of rich cultivated country. For how many hundred years this natural process of washing away the banks and widening the river has been going on without check, or for how long it has been allowed to flood the adjacent lands, I am not in a position to say, but a step was recently taken with the avowed intention of remedying the latter evil, which however has proved unsuccessful. Instead of keeping such an enormous river, which is equal in volume to that of the Rhine, in the course which nature ordained for it, and taking the natural and more easy method of training its banks, regulating its width and inclination, and, if necessary, straightening its course, the Japanese conceived the idea of cutting another and separate channel to the sea fur the purpose of carrying off the flood waters—a great part of which has been already executed—but the works are now stopped. The design was erroneous in so far that the abstraction of the flood waters would probably result in a further shallowing of the natural course of the river, so entirely destroying its usefulness as a means of transport.
In Bridge building the Japanese have a way of their own which has at least the merit of being quickly, easily, and cheaply accomplished. The piers generally consist of wooden piles driven a few feet into the bed of the streams. In some cases stone is used, but then it is cut to the same shape and of the same size as a wooden pile under the same circumstances would be. The platforms of the bridges are always of wood, and are generally constructed of longitudinal beams formed of a tree grown with such a bend as it may be desired to give the roadway. This bend is always considerable in Japanese bridges. The beams are laid 4 or 5 feet apart, and on top of them are laid cross planks which form the roadway. The span of each opening never exceeds 40 feet and generally is not more than 30 feet. One of the longest bridges in Yedo is at Yae tai and has 24 spans of 30 feet each.
The Japanese seem always to have been alive to the necessities for a plentiful and pure supply of fresh water. Yedo has had its water-works for many years, and the native town of Yokohama will also very soon be supplied with water in the same manner. The source of supply for both places is the River Tame-gawa and the fountain-head is about 13 miles distant from each place. There is a small dam across the river for the purpose of collecting the water into the pipes, but there is no settling pond, filter, reservoir or other such appliance for purifying or storing the water as was used by the ancient Romans and is generally attached to water-works of the present day. The pipes are constructed of wood about 1 or 2 inches thick, and are made in the shape of a square trough, the joints being rendered tight by the insertion between them of a certain bark. The main pipes are from 1 foot to 2 feet square, and the smaller ones used for the distribution of the water are generally about 4 inches square. In the Yedo water-works the pipes are carried across vallies and streams on piles, but at Yokohama syphon pipes have been introduced. There appears to be some confussion in the Japanese mind in regard to the natural law that water always finds its own level. They appear to be cognizant of it so far, that they make allowances for the water rising in the syphon pipes and wells which they have adopted, but, on the other hand, they do not appear entirely to have grasped the principle. In illustration of this, in Yedo there are placed five large wooden tanks at points where there are alterations in the inclination of the pipes. Thus, if they wished to supply a district higher than the level of the water main, instead of allowing the water to gravitate direct to that district they direct it first into one of these large boxes and allow it to rise there to the height which they desire, and then they carry it off from the box to the district requiring the supply. In the same way in the Yokohama water-works there are large boxes of a similar kind at each end of the syphons which carry the water under streams or other obstructions, so that instead of the water flowing direct through the pipe and along the syphon, it empties itself into the box at one end in the first place, the box then supplies the syphon, and the syphon empties itself into a box at the other end, from which the water proceeds along the main pipe. The adoption of these boxes must, I think, proceed from some misapprehension of natural laws, and I have been unable to discover any sufficient reason for them. The water is distributed through the towns in circular wells which are constructed in the streets. These are also made of wood and their tops project 2 or 3 feet above the level of the ground. The water is allowed to rise to a certain level in them or to overflow their edges and the inhabitants procure their supplies by dipping their buckets into them.
In other works which the Japanese have undertaken there may be observed the same want of knowledge of the properties of materials, and the same crude methods of executing work. I have confined myself in this paper entirely to a description of what the people of the country have accomplished without extraneous aid. To what extent foreigners have, in later years, been enabled to educate them, or to develope the building resources of the country, would fitly form the subject of a separate paper, which, if agreeable to the Society, I shall have pleasure in placing before it on some future occasion. But I may be allowed to say here, that while I felt it impossible to come to any other conclusion than that, in constructive art, the Japanese are surprisingly behind us, I do not wish it to be understood that I consider this deficiency of knowledge to be due to any want of intelligence on their part. Whatever may have been the causes for the want of attention which has been paid to building, there can be no doubt of the great aptitude and ingenuity of the people, and that, after a few years of well-directed education, they will give good proofs of their ability to master all the intricacies of construction as now understood in all civilized countries.