Jutaku: Japanese Houses

Jutaku is a Japanese word that means house, the major theme of this book by Naomi Pollock. And since they are in Japan, these houses which can be found in this book are extraordinary for people from the western world.

500 houses, one picture of each. On more than 500 pages. Listed by the part of the country they are located in. There are 5 important pieces of information about each house: Floor area, site area, number of people living inside, relative size and how much space does the house takes from the site.

Many of the houses are very small and unconventional. Why is that? In the beginning, there is a short introduction which gives us an answer.

1. Scarce land – Buildable sites are rare since the majority of the country is covered by steep mountain ranges. Most of the people live in Taiheiyō Belt, which runs along Pacific coast. To the North, mountain ranges block urbanization.
2. High inheritance taxes – Taxes makes it hard for families to hold land, since many times, people have to sell some part of the property, so they can have the rest. This subdivision creates smaller and smaller plots.
3. Minimum plot size – Uncommon in western countries, standard in Japan. There is no minimum plot size.
4. Non-existant resale market – For the Japanese, old is not an option. Even a slight sign of wear is usually undesirable for them. Therefore most houses have a light expectancy of around 30 years. ‘Old’ houses are simply taken down and people see it just as another expense in pursuing their dream house.
5. Benevolent thermal insulation regulations – Japan is one of the least environmentally friendly countries. Because of that, walls can be really thin and the house often relies on sophisticated mechanical cooling and heating.
6. Experiment – Because of listed reasons, the Japanese are often forced to hire an architect, because only them can wrestle with tiny plots and other undesirable locations. And because the house in Japan is just a temporary building, lasting just one generation, the Japanese do not hesitate to experiment. Materials, shapes, sizes.

After an introduction, you can sink into an abbys of houses. Small, quirky, unconventional, innovative, weird. There are many adjectives that can be applied to houses in Japan. In case you need a pinch of wild inspiration, this book is for you.

You can get it here

Cheers