The Japanese roof tiles, called kawara, are one of the most noticeable elements of the Japanese landscape, especially in Kyoto, which still has many traditional houses. These roof tiles have high cultural importance, since they have been decorating the Japanese scenery for more than 1,400 years. There is some evidence that the Japanese started using kawaraas early as the 6thcentury, after the introduction of Buddhism by an ancient Korean kingdom. Buddhism brought with it new architecture and special building methods, one of which was the kawararoof tiles. Although many people think the tiles are made out of some kind of metal, they’re actually fired clay.
Through the hundreds of years that the Japanese have been using kawara, the compound for the tiles has evolved to fit the local climate and environment. In a country like Japan, which suffers greatly from natural disasters such as typhoons and heavy rains every year, along with occasional earthquakes and fires, the building method was adjusted for these unexpected events. Today, kawara are used for roofing in traditional Japanese buildings, such as houses and temples, and are expected to last for around 75 years with only minor repairs.
6 Comments
Alon Parag
May 18, 2019 at 3:31 pmExcellent post dear Shahar 🙂
bluevagabond
May 18, 2019 at 10:29 pmThanks Alonush!
Happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Margarida
May 20, 2019 at 9:11 pmI had no idea about this workshop, thank you so much for sharing it. I visited Japan in 2014 but planning to visit it again and would love to attend a similar workshop. I’m fascinated by Japanese architecture and culture.
bluevagabond
May 20, 2019 at 10:10 pmSo happy to read your comment!
I always update in the newsletter regarding similar Japanese-cultural workshops.
Please subscribe if you’d like to know more 🙂
Gavin
April 26, 2020 at 8:38 amVery informative, thanks!
bluevagabond
April 26, 2020 at 9:59 amanytime 🙂