Over a thousand years ago in Nara, Japan, anonymous carpenters erected a number of temples and pagodas for a newly founded Buddhist monastery known as Yakushiji. Not only is one of those pagodas still standing today, but also surviving are the dedication to quality and the technical skill of its builders as seen in the work of modern-day craftsmen. The Genius of Japanese Carpentry focuses on such practicing carpenters, who combine in their work the timeless past and the living present. What precisely is a Buddhist temple, what a temple carpenter, and what relationship do they have to Japanese woodworkers and carpenters in general? S. Azby Brown raises and answers these questions before taking up the subject that lies at the heart of the book: the construction of the Picture Hall, one of the temples lying within a sub-compound of the Yakushiji monastery. Founded in the eighth century and subject over time to the depredations of fire and warfare, the Yakushiji is now in the midst of a complete renovation that will, by the year 2030, restore its original appearance. As one part of this project, the construction of the Picture Hall has now been completed, employing the methods, the architectural style, and to a large extent the technology of its Japanese historical predecessors. From the day work commenced on the Picture Hall to the day it was finished, the author was at the site, camera in hand, recording its step-by-step erection: the selection of wood, the fabrication of parts, the detailing, the joint-making, the laying of the foundations, the pillars and beams going into place, installment of rafters and struts, the laying of the roof and roof-tiles, and, finally, the holding of the festive ridge-beam ceremony. In addition to documentary photographs, the book is remarkable for the author's drawings, based on the plans of the master carpenter himself. The combination of photos and drawings so clarifies the process of erection that the ambitious reader might imagine, for one heady moment, that he or she might undertake the building of just such a temple if only provided with the proper tools. While far from the truth, this illusion is eloquent testimony to the lucidity of the author's presentation. While it is thus the construction process itself that forms the center of the book, another important element, the human element, is never slighted. The carpenters themselves are continuously present, patiently going about their work, concentrating on the job at hand. It is perhaps from their example, as much as from the description of the stages of construction, that the modern reader will derive inspiration, discovering a common bond of sympathy that bridges both time and cultural boundaries.

Genius of Japanese Carpentry: The Secrets of a Craft

Arts & Photography

Brown, Azby

Other Media

Kodansha USA

The Very Small Home is an inspiring new book that surveys the creative design innovations of small houses in Japan. Eighteen recently built and unusual houses, from ultramodern to Japanese rustic, are presented in depth. Particular emphasis is given to what the author calls the "big idea" for each house—the thing that does the most to make the home feel more spacious than it actually is. Big ideas include ingenious sources of natural light, well thought-out loft spaces, snug but functional kitchens, unobtrusive partitions, and unobstructed circulation paths. An introduction puts the houses in the context of lifestyle trends and highlights their shared characteristics. The Houses section details each project the intentions of the designers and occupants are explained. The result is a very human sensibility that runs through the book, a glimpse of the dreams and aspirations that these unique homes represent and that belies their apparent modesty. The second half of the book is devoted to illustrating the special features in the homes, from storage and kitchen designs to revolutionary skylights and partitions. Building small can be a sign of higher ambitions, and those who read this book will undoubtedly grow to appreciate that building a small home can be an amazingly positive and creative act, one which can enhance one’s life in surprising ways. In The Very Small Home, Brown has given home owners, designers, and architects a fascinating new collection of ideas. "Azby Brown has done it again. I loved his first book, Small Spaces, and this one goes further yet in helping to demystify the art of the small house. The book is a must for anyone wanting to understand how to do more with less when it comes to home design. These tiny and exquisitely designed contemporary Japanese homes have so many lessons to teach readers around the world about how to make their homes both functional and beautiful, whatever the size. And as for the quality of the houses illustrated, they're extraordinary. I, for one, couldn't put the book down, and I suspect it will have the same effect on a great many readers." Sarah Susanka, AIA, Architect and author of The Not So Big House series, and Home By Design

The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas for Living Well in Limited Space

Architecture

Kodansha International

Small Spaces is about living comfortably and using space wisely, and where better to find ideas on that subject than Japan, one of the world's most urban and densely populated countries? Tokyo resident Azby Brown, a distinguished architect and designer, has assembled dozens of creative solutions to space and storage problems, illustrating them with photographs and plans of actual living environments in contemporary homes. The key to his approach is what might be called "The Three Cs "--compact, comfortable, and convenient. Use of space is reconsidered, with easy living always the uppermost goal. A living room is opened up by creating level changes or "joining it with the exterior." A staircase can double as a chest of drawers, a space beneath the floor can serve as a kitchen pantry or hiding place for a disappearing bed: an adjustable table can serve different purposes at different heights. From top to bottom, in bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and hall, Azby Brown presents solutions to the problems of inner space, illustrated with dozens of full-color photographs, drawings, and architectural plans. Small Spaces will be a lifesaver for all those with growing families, shrinking resources, and limited room to grow--or indeed anyone who wants to transform a disorganized, cluttered environment into an orderly, attractive living area.

Small Spaces: Stylish Ideas for Making More of Less in the Home

If we want to live sustainably, how should we feel about nature? About waste? About our forests and rivers? About food? Just Enough is a book of stories and sketches that give valuable insight into what it is like to live in a sustainable society by describing life in Japan some two hundred years ago, during the late Edo period, when cities and villages faced many of the same environmental challenges we do today and met them beautifully and inventively.

Just Enough: Lessons from Japan for Sustainable Living, Architecture, and Design

Business & Money

Economics

Stone Bridge Press

Looks at Japanese designs for compact housing, suggests a variety of storage options, and describes design strategies for making small spaces seem larger

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Home Improvement & Design

Kodansha USA Inc

0ver a thousand years ago in Nara, Japan, anonymous carpenters erected a number of temples and pagodas for a newly founded Buddhist monastery known as Yakushiji. Not only is one of those pagodas still standing today, but also surviving are the dedication to quality and the technical skill of its builders as seen in the work of modern-day craftsmen. The Genius of Japanese Carpentry focuses on such practicing carpenters, who combine in their work the timeless past and the living present. What precisely is a Buddhist temple, what a temple carpenter, and what relationship do they have to Japanese woodworkers and carpenters in general? S. Azby Brown raises and answers these questions before taking up the subject that lies at the heart of the book: the construction of the Picture Hall, one of the temples lying within a sub-compound of the Yakushiji monastery. Founded in the eighth century and subject over time to the depredations of fire and warfare, the Yakushiji is now in the midst of a complete renovation that will, by the year 2030, restore its original appearance. As one part of this project, the construction of the Picture Hall has now been completed, employing the methods, the architectural style, and to a large extent the technology of its Japanese historical predecessors. From the day work commenced on the Picture Hall to the day it was finished, the author was at the site, camera in hand, recording its step-by-step erection: the selection of wood, the fabrication of parts, the detailing, the joint-making, the laying of the foundations, the pillars and beams going into place, installment of rafters and struts, the laying of the roof and roof-tiles, and, finally, the holding of the festive ridge-beam ceremony. In addition to documentary photographs, the book is remarkable for the author's drawings, based on the plans of the master carpenter himself. The combination of photos and drawings so clarifies the process of erection that the ambitious reader might imagine, for one heady moment, that he or she might undertake the building of just such a temple if only provided with the proper tools. While far from the truth, this illusion is eloquent testimony to the lucidity of the author's presentation. While it is thus the construction process itself that forms the center of the book, another important element, the human element, is never slighted. The carpenters themselves are continuously present, patiently going about their work, concentrating on the job at hand. It is perhaps from their example, as much as from the description of the stages of construction, that the modern reader will derive inspiration, discovering a common bond of sympathy that bridges both time and cultural boundaries.

The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: The Secrets of a Craft

Small Spaces is about living comfortably and using space wisely, and where better to find ideas on that subject than Japan, one of the world's most urban and densely populated countries? Tokyo resident Azby Brown, a distinguished architect and designer, has assembled dozens of creative solutions to space and storage problems, illustrating them with photographs and plans of actual living environments in contemporary homes. The key to his approach is what might be called "The Three Cs "-compact, comfortable, and convenient. Use of space is reconsidered, with easy living always the uppermost goal. A living room is opened up by creating level changes or "joining it with the exterior." A staircase can double as a chest of drawers, a space beneath the floor can serve as a kitchen pantry or hiding place for a disappearing bed: an adjustable table can serve different purposes at different heights. From top to bottom, in bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and hall, Azby Brown presents solutions to the problems of inner space, illustrated with dozens of full-color photographs, drawings, and architectural plans. Small Spaces will be a lifesaver for all those with growing families, shrinking resources, and limited room to grow-or indeed anyone who wants to transform a disorganized, cluttered environment into an orderly, attractive living area.

The modern Japanese home has always attracted Western architects and designers. With a panache that often borders on the outrageous, modern homes in Japan blend such traditional elements as shoji screens and tatam-matted rooms with what, at first glance, appear to be thoroughly contemporary elements of the Western home. 
And yet a closer look reveals impressively subtle alterations. Carefully crafted wooden surfaces throughout the home gleam with a delicate Japanese sense of color and rhythm. The kitchen and living areas are fitted out with modern appliances or furniture, yet the subtle variations in the wall placement and space usage suggest that a different sensibility is at work. 
Azby Brown, in his third book on Japanese architecture, delves into the intricacies of the modern Japanese home by first reaching back to its roots (some thousand years earlier) to follow its development to the present day, then steams ahead to explore the state-of-the-art Japanese home, with its recycled materials, extruded synthetic wood decks, and dozens of unique touches that can only be found in Japan. Designer Joseph Cali has supplied countless intriguing modern and historical images, many of them appearing here in an English-language publication for the first time. 
In page after page of this lushly illustrated, all-color volume, Brown presents his take on Japan's high-tech yet serene home designs. The Japanese Dream House is one of the first English language books to appear in a long time on the subject and is sure to prove an indispensable volume for architects, designers, and homeowners for years to come. 
FEATURES 
Full color 
223 color photos Includes rare historical photos 
10 line drawings 
New architectural photos never published before

The Japanese Dream House: How Technology and Tradition Are Shaping New Home Design

Cali, Joseph

Just Enough is a book of stories, depictions of vanished ways of life told from the point of view of a contemporary observer. The stories tell how people lived in Japan some two hundred years ago, during the late Edo Period, when traditional technology and culture were at the peak of development and realization, just before the country opened itself to the West and joined the ranks of the industrialized nations. They tell of people overcoming many of the identical problems that confront us today--issues of energy, water, materials, food and population--and forging a society that was conservation-minded, waste-free, well-housed, well-fed and economically robust. From these stories, readers will gain insight into what it is like to live in a sustainable society, not so much in terms of specific technical approaches, but rather, in terms of how larger concerns can guide daily decisions and how social and environmental contexts shape our courses of action. These stories are intended to illustrate the environmentally-related problems that the people in both rural and urban areas faced, the conceptual frameworks in which they viewed these problems, and how they went about finding solutions. Included at the end of each section are a number of lessons in which the author elaborates on what Edo Period life has to offer us in the global battle to reverse environmental degradation. Topics covered include everything from transportation, interconnected systems, and waste reduction to the need for spiritual centers in the home. Just Enough, more than anything else, is about a mentality that pervaded traditional Japanese society and which can serve as a beacon for our own efforts to achieve sustainability now.

Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

The world has changed immeasurably over the last thirty years, with more, bigger, better being the common mantra. But in the midst of this constantly evolving world, there is a growing community of people who are looking at our history, searching for answers to issues that are faced everywhere, such as energy, water, materials, food and population crisis. In Just Enough, author Azby Brown turned to the history of Japan, where he finds a number of lessons on living in a sustainable society that translate beyond place and time. This book of stories depicts vanished ways of life from the point of view of a contemporary observer, and presents a compelling argument around how to forge a society that is conservation-minded, waste-free, well-housed, well-fed and economically robust. Included at the end of each section are lessons in which Brown elaborates on what Edo Period life has to offer us in the global battle to reverse environmental degradation. Covering topics on everything from transportation, interconnected systems, and waste reduction to the need for spiritual centers in the home, there is something here for everyone looking to make changes in their life. Just Enough is much-needed beacon in our evolving world, giving us hope in our efforts to achieve sustainability now.

Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green From Traditional Japan

Photography & Video

Tuttle+publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brown, Azby. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Brown, Azby

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brown, Azby. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Genius of Japanese Carpentry: The Secrets of a Craft

The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas for Living Well in Limited Space

Small Spaces: Stylish Ideas for Making More of Less in the Home

Just Enough: Lessons from Japan for Sustainable Living, Architecture, and Design

Small Spaces: Stylish Ideas for Making More of Less in the Home

The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: The Secrets of a Craft

Small Spaces: Stylish Ideas for Making More of Less in the Home

The Japanese Dream House: How Technology and Tradition Are Shaping New Home Design

Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan

Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green From Traditional Japan