Japanese House No. 1 - Timber Frame Construction Series - "Tatemae" - January 2021
In this series, we are in Hayama, Japan where we are participating in a new Japanese house build. The house design is a mix of traditional Japanese carpentry set on top of a modern concrete slab. This was done as per the request of the client and architect who decided on this style. The house is situated on a hillside overlooking picturesque Hayama.
House Information:
Land Area: ~310 sq. meters (~94 tsubo) (~3337 sq. feet) Building Area: ~120 sq. meters (~36 tsubo) (~1292 sq. feet) Total Living Area: ~102 sq. meters (~31 tsubo) (~1098 sq. feet)
The house has a living room/dining/kitchen open plan, 2 bedrooms with additional guest room, toilet room with vanity, washer/dressing room, Japanese split shower with bathtub, and an attached wooden deck.
In Part 2 of the House No. 1 build, we finish framing out the foundation beams and begin installing the turnbuckle style supports called Kouseizuka (鋼製束). We also learned about the standard length found inside a Japanese house which is called Sanjyaku (3尺) roughly 90.9 cm (or 35.8 inches). This measurement is the basis for the number system when laying out a Japanese house. A typical house is designed in a grid where building materials are designed to fit perfectly with little modification which speeds up installation of various interior and exterior components of the house. We also learned a little more about the Sashigane (差し金) and how to use it properly. Also in this video we learn more about the types of wood and the names of the wood found in a traditional Japanese house. There are 4 different kinds of wood used inside this house, the architect or client may request certain wood for certain parts of a house. In this case, the foundation beams were made from Hiba (ひば) (a type of Japanese Cypress) that is highly resistant to moisture and rotting. The majority of the house is made from Sugi (杉) or Hinoki (檜) which is customary in Japanese architecture. The round beams called Maruta (丸太) are a common place in a Japanese home and they are made of a slightly arched Akamatsu (赤松) (or Japanese Red Pine). We also learned a little about some of the more common measuring tools like the Shakuzue (尺杖) and also some unique planers such as the Kiwa Kanna (際鉋) or "shoulder" or "rabbet" plane which has both a left and right sided variation. Throughout the video you will see the carpenters dry fitting all the major parts of the house at the shop and marking them with a circle indicating that they have been fitted together and checked. This is something that is time consuming, but extremely important when building up everything at the construction site. In future videos we will explain more about the dry fitting process.
We hope you enjoy this video. Please check out Part 3 of this House No. 1 Series.
Special Thanks to: Fujimoto Traditional Carpentry Company (https://ryofujimoto.com/) Instagram: @ftc5610 @ryo5610 #woodworking #japanesewoodworking #carpentrylife Videographers and Editing: K. Yamashita / G. Leopardi / F. Ogasawara
Equipment Used: Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark iii (4k) Sony ZV Log Camera (4k) Apple iPhone 10 (4k) Rode VideoMic NTG (Audio)
