Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings

by Edward S. Morse

Morse's publication is an idea book par excellence … Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings is likely to continue to be a valued resource for some time to come."—David and Michiko Young

First published in 1886, this classic review of the Japanese house and garden remains an authoritative description of the architecture of the traditional Japanese home. The work of Edward S. Morse, a groundbreaking and imaginative inventor, academic, author and museum curator, this edition of Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings features an introduction by David and Michiko Young placing the book in its historical context and explaining its continued relevance.

Containing over 300 detailed illustrations and revealing important historical and cultural sources, Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings is a time-tested resource for architects and landscape designers alike. Chapters

Genres: Architecture, Japan, Nonfiction, Reference, Japanese Literature, History, Art

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1886

About the author

Edward Sylvester Morse was an American zoologist and orientalist.

Reviews

[Mike Benoit · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was written like 140 years ago but still, this is IT.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exhaustive review of Japanese homes including most of the significant features, I.e., design, roofs, flooring, walls, verandas, gardens, etc. Other books might go into more detail on specific aspects, but this book covers more ground than any other book I've read. His critique of the shortcomings of Western houses and lifestyle is at times pointed as well as surgical in its aim. I can imagine reading this book more than once depending on what I a currently interested in. I would highly recommend this book to any westerner wanting greater insight into the design and layout of Japanese homes. I would recommend A Japanese Touch for Your Home for more insights into the why's of design, but this book is a great introduction to various styles.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this book also illustrated it with the most delicate, precise and still evocative diagrams of various architectural design elements, tools, articles and decorative pieces used in making, maintaining and ornamenting the Japanese house and its setting.
Edward Morse approaches his subject with the feelings of a social anthropologist.
Keywords for people who like: architecture, history, design, Japan, line drawings; and for those that find beauty in small details.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

My go-to book when exploring old homes, storage rooms and kura in Japan, and want to identify the function or name of some feature or found thing. There may be better or more detailed books that provide the same information but you would do well to start with Morse's and use others to deep-dive as needed.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morse portrays the image of the typical Japanese home for the curious westener. Simple and strait forward, this is an light and easy read with many beautiful images

[Trevor O'Keefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually the second time I'm reading this - I first came across this book in the library of a former employer back around 2014ish.

An amazing book if you want to learn all the parts and some of the culture that goes into making classical Japanese home architecture. An amazing array of gorgeous hand-drawn sketches (over 200!) and every one of them referenced in the text, sometimes more than once, to describe all the bits and details that go into making one of humanity's truly unique architectures.

The biggest gap in what I was hoping to find within is any sort of real analysis/description of how the spaces are used. There are small references here and there to what happens in a given space, but nowhere near enough to really form an understanding of how someone at the time actually lived in their homes. Maybe the closest we get is that Morse relates in several floor plans the names of the Japanese spaces with their uses in Europe - but given that this book is from the 19th century even that relationship isn't the most useful. I have no idea what people did in a parlor back in the 1800's, nor what they would do if they had three of them as in some of Morse's Japanese floor plans! Still, there are some satisfying descriptions of some of the home rituals involved within. How guests are welcomed, hygiene, how to defeat winter, and how to decorate based on season.

If you're an architect of someone just curious about Japanese architecture, consider this book a must-read and keep on hand for future reference.

[Philip McCarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to learn an almost overwhelming amount of information about Japanese architecture, then this is the book for you. I found myself daunted by the sheer scope of the work, especially because a large amount of it is descriptions of various household pieces. I found the inclusion of pictures to be wonderfully helpful and it has opened my eyes to so may new aspects of the world that I had never really thought to much about, such as the simple stones implemented in buildings, or the immense variation to be found in things as simple as walls or roofs. Besides the dearth of information this book offers up, another aspect that I found most intriguing was the authors notions of Japan and its society in comparison to the American one. This book was written in the 1880s at a time when learning extensively about another culture would be through exhaustive surveys such as this one. I loved the large amount of praise that the author had for Japanese culture and the surprising amount of contempt he held for the American household. It was an entertaining look into the author's own personal feelings in an otherwise dry book. After reading this book I feel like I now have the knowledge to discuss Japanese households using the correct terminology. I'm glad to have read it, especially for the many interesting aspects of houses that were discussed, such as hygiene and ornamental nails. While it was a fascinating read, I didn't find myself properly pulled into it until about halfway through, after the long house construction chapters.

[Honza Marcinek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bylo velmi příhodné, že jsem knihu začal číst, když se na HBO objevil skvělý seriál Šógun. Člověk pak kromě příběhu mohl ocenit i celou škálu jiných věcí na pozadí děje. Zejména právě architekturu. V této knize je ohromující množství informací o japonské architektuře a jako správná kniha o architektuře je doprovázena ilustracemi, které vám pomohou pro lepší představu a otevře vám to oči pro nové aspekty světa, o kterých jste nikdy moc nepřemýšleli. Kniha byla napsána v 80. letech 19. století, tedy v době, kdy se rozsáhlé poznávání jiné kultury dělo prostřednictvím vyčerpávajících průzkumů, jako je tento, takže autor srovnává japonskou společnost s americkou, což na některých místech je pak znát, jak vyspělá kultura Japonsko byla a je. Nicméně právě stáří knihy a detailní rozebírání každého aspektu přidalo na náročnosti čtení knihy. V dnešní době by z toho mohl být skvělý dokumentární seriál na Youtube.

[Ad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 40-year old Tuttle paperback which is still in very good condition in my library, despite the humid climate in Japan. Edward Morse (1838-1925) was the first to undertake scientific excavations in Japan (he excavated the Omori Shell mound in 1877) and has been dubbed "the father of Japanese archaeology." More lived in japan from 1877 to to 1880 and returned frequently during the next decade. This delicious book about Japanese domestic architecture - both town and countryside - first saw the light in 1886. What makes this book valuable are the about 300 illustrations from the hand of the author who was a skilled draughtsman - it is just a delight to browse in this book.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very thorough. Not so much for the casual reader.

[Vit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you are not interested in Japanese traditional architecture and do not care about Japanese, still it is a precious book. Edward Morse opens his heart to Japanese culture and rewarded himself and his readers with insight, grasp of it. This book was first published 1885, but I have not seen anything comparable be it on subject of architecture or culture. I would love to see a similar book on Persia.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morse takes a wonderfully detailed look at the Japanese home and the Japanese lifestyle as he saw it. While it is certainly not 100% accurate according to the information we have today, it is still a very good record of traditional Japanese living patterns as they existed during the early years of Western observation of that country.

[Steve Nordlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic, details survey that presumably had great influence over architects and designers in America and the west coast in particular.

[Vanlilith · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still pretty good despite it's age.