Lit. recent ages. The proto-modern age that includes
the Momoyama and Edo periods (1568-1868). During the former period
castle architecture and great warriors' residences took precedence over temples
and shrines. Architecture was embellished with brilliantly colored, decorative
relief sculpture and sparkling accents of metal fittings. The gorgeous decoration
was often bold and unrestrained to the extent that the basic beauty of architectural
forms was frequently lost. The Momoyama style culminated in the buildings at the
Toushouguu 東照宮, the mausleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 (1542-1616). During the Edo period, architecture
gradually became sterile. Some scholars have suggested that in part at least the
degeneration of architecture in the Edo period could have resulted from the system
of families of hereditary master carpenters who rigidly guarded their secret structural,
methods passing them from generation to generation. Thus there was no motivation
for creativity and inventiveness. |