The residential architecture of Heian-kyo’s ruling elite was based on the ritual state shrines of the Tang capital. Referred to today as shinden style (shinden-zukuri), its adoption by the Japanese imperial family from about the eighth century was part of the broader project of importing Chinese things and ideas. The style was initially implemented in the building of the imperial palace in Heijo-kyo as well as state-sponsored Buddhist temples.44 Despite shinden style being poorly suited to residential uses, its adoption was related to the ruling elite’s objective of reifying a ritualized form of statecraft based on the Ritsuryo codes. It was envisioned that the emperor would justify and perpetuate his virtuous rule through an almost continuous repertoire of carefully scripted rights and rituals, all of which adhered to strict codes of precedent and pageantry. Everything from clothing and gestures to architecture and interior decor (shitsurai) were meticulously prescribed. Starting with the Imperial Palace, shinden-style complexes were a key part of the formalized paraphernalia of classical authority. This fundamental correspondence between form and function, according to William Coaldrake, “reveals the adoption of an official architectural vocabulary based on Tang usage, and makes an equation between government by virtue, a fundamental Confucian tenant, and appropriate physical form.” On the relationship between Ritsuryo government and shinden style, Coaldrake observes
That “it is the same type of equation that we accept exists between democratic governments and Greek Classical architecture"45
“Shinden-zukuri” refers both to a prescribed grounds plan and building style.46 In terms of the former, the earliest fully mature shinden-style palaces consisted of a conglomeration of as many as fifteen discrete structures arranged symmetrically along a north-south axis and enclosed within a rectangular earthen wall (see Figure 1.12). At the center, traditionally standing to the north of a garden or pond, was the compound’s most important structure, the central shinden (lit. “sleeping palace”). Serving both as the primary ritual venue and the main residential quarters of the master of the house, the south-facing shinden was connected to surrounding subsidiary structures via a network of covered corridors (ro).
1.12. Typical shinden-style complex, bird's-eye representation from the south. Courtesy of Richard Bowring
Perhaps the most noticeable structural trait of shinden-style architecture was the almost complete absence of fixed interior walls and, as a result, the nonexistence of discrete rooms (see Figure 1.13). Reticulating wooden shutters (shitomido) served to close buildings off from the outside, but inner chambers remained open, partitioned only by folding screens, curtains, or bamboo blinds. Such temporary
Fixtures were used on an occasional basis to accommodate specific activities such as eating, sleeping, or the holding of particular events or rituals. Once their purpose was served, they were generally either rearranged or stowed.47 It would be incorrect, therefore, to think in terms of the existence of “living rooms” or “bedrooms” within early shinden-style palaces. Interior space was definitively non-function-specific. This key characteristic was related to an impulse to preserve the original architectural ideal to the point where any alterations made to accommodate non-Ritsuryo functions (including daily life) were to be minimal and, most important, temporary. This tendency helps explain the overall austerity of shinden-style interiors. Straw mats known as tatami were used on occasion to facilitate sitting or reclining, but otherwise the wooden plank floors remained bare throughout. Without walls or any variations in floor level, large wooden pillars were the only permanent structural elements that interrupted interior space.48
Shinden-style palaces (or their prototypes) began to proliferate from about the late eighth century when members of the aristocracy started mimicking the forms of the Imperial Palace when building their own official urban residences. The broad adoption of the style was related to the aristocracy’s increased employment of rituals based on the imperial model as a means of demonstrating their membership in the Ritsuryo hierarchy. Possessing the necessary architectural components endowed the elite with the physical infrastructure to hold those rituals. As time went by, a definitive grammar of architectural comportment emerged in which building elements and decors were, like the sizes of residential plots, closely mapped to formal statuses. The style of a nobleman’s primary gate, for example, was a function of his rank and imperial post, as were his roofing tiles and the patterns and colors used in the edgings of his tatami mats.49 Even the orientation of an entire complex became a function of status, with only those of the third rank or higher permitted to build primary gates that opened onto “great” roads (dji).5°
World History
