Palaces, Temples and Castles in Premodern Japan

presented by Dr Mark Erdmann

Japanese architecture is known around the world for its simple, clean designs. Its premodern buildings entranced and inspired twentieth-century modernist architects, figures like Bruno Taut and Walter Gropius who saw in Japan’s premodern structures echoes of their own interest in functionality and limited ornamentation. This talk will trace the unique set of geographic, political, and cultural factors that gave rise to the Japanese aesthetic. Tracing the origins and fusion of Japanese palace architecture with imported Zen temple architecture in the 14th century to the discovery of castles in the 16th century, key structures such as theGolden and Silver Pavilions, Himeji Castle, and the Taian teahouse as well as key styles like shinden-zukuri and shoin-zukuri will be introduced.

Explore the country through the lens of its artistic traditions, from the art and architecture of ancient temples with Mark.

Recorded during a live-streamed Zoom presentation, this video has been carefully edited to deliver the experience of being part of an audience and having the best seat in the house.

Dr Mark Erdmann

Mark is a Lecturer in Art History at the University of Melbourne. He received his doctorate in Japanese art and architectural history from Harvard University and has studied at the University of London SOAS as well as the University of Tokyo, Gakushuin, Kindai University, and Osaka University. He lived for 15 years in Japan and is a specialist in Japanese pre-modern architecture. His research has focused on castles, master carpenters, as well as artistic exchange with Jesuit missionaries.

Find out more about Mark here.