Comments on: Wooden buildings burn

By: admin

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:29:56 +0000

Hey Pool, I’ve not been to the Kodaiji. What’s the set-up? I can easily imagine the firefighters of Kyōto drilling day-in and day-out should such a disaster strike there. If something did go up the country would be in mourning for decades I’m sure.

Satellite TV? Don’t be silly. The next post’ll be about Oda Nobunaga’s jacuzzi on the top floor of Azuchi jō.

By: コルーズ・真秀

コルーズ・真秀 — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:02:22 +0000

I guess I just never bothered to question ‘Why?’ the Castles had the plaster on them. I just figured it was nice way to decorate the place. I have to say that plaster is a pretty ingenious idea for a fire control technique. I can see why the artistry of the Kote-e would have blossomed and become a lucrative business for a time.

http://community.japanese-castle-explorer.com/kote-e-the-plasterers-art/

I suppose as far as exterior source it would be pretty successful. Unfortunately most of those fires back in the day were started by some resident knocking over there lantern. (or and invading force torching the place.)

I would hope that most of the cultural properties in Japan have a well hidden fire suppressant system. I seem to remember seeing one at Kodaiji. It would be a shame if these places burnt to the ground like Korea…… What a shame.

looking forward to see what mysteries about the roofs you unlock for us… Next thing you know you’ll be telling us the roof tiles were an early form of satellite TV reception.

By: admin

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:10:12 +0000

Thanks once again for your thoughts Toranosuke.

The Kinkakuji. This came as quite a shock to me when I first heard. Several things came to mind:
Shock – It’s rebuilt.
Disappointment – I just missed it by 50 years.
Surprise – My parents were born prior to it burning down.
Awe – It remains truly stunning.

As for other elements of fire-resistant buildings, thank you. I already have a “roofs” post being cooked up in the back of my mind. Thanks for the encouraging comments also, I known these posts are hardly hard-hitting.

By: Toranosuke

Toranosuke — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:45:04 +0000

Like the Namdaemun a few years ago, or the Kinkakuji back in the 1950s, the potential for old wooden buildings to be lost to fire has certainly not gone away, as you so rightly remind us (I myself had an “oh, yeah” moment, and had been in need of reminding).

I remember being confused when I myself first learned that Japanese castles, with their white walls and impressive stone foundations, were made primarily of wood. That plaster sure doesn’t look like wood…

Of course, another key element of the efforts to make buildings fire-resistant was the use of tile roofs, instead of wood or bark shingles or thatch.

Yet another excellent post! I’m really enjoying learning about the architectural elements that went into castle construction.