karacho’s karakami - japanese woodblock-printed paper ................................................................................................................................................................................


karacho’s karakami
katsura rikyu

the katsura imperial villa (katsura rikyu) in its present
form was completed in 1645. the country villa and its
surrounding gardens of the imperial princely family,
hachioji no miya, is located near the katsura river in
the outskirts of kyoto, japan. the building is carefully
preserved as a national monument because it represents
the purest form of japanese native architecture.
architects throughout the world have long admired
the main building, which has a zigzagging floor plan,
for its clean lines, its display of natural materials,
and its integration of interior and exterior space.
the thatched straight, not curved roofs, the shoji
(the square-patterned sliding screens with
karacho karakami woodblock-handprinted paper
windows) and straw matted rooms are the
principal features. this building did indeed influence
the entire tradition of japanese domestic and hotel
architecture. the building owes much of its charm to
the fact that the site is uneven, the delicate restraint
and rusticity of traditional landscaping with stone
pathways. galleries overlook the garden.
the inmates would sit on the veranda and
contemplate, converse, ...

temples and shrines favored large patterns in
keeping with the larger spaces they had to decorate
compared to the average home.
the patterns include cloud motifs, flowers and bamboo.
karacho has roughly one hundred woodblocks of motifs
associated with specific temples and shrines and which
are still used on occasion.



page 1


karacho's karakami


page 2


karakami inside ‘katsura rikyu’,
the katsura imperial villa



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katsura rikyu country villa



a view inside



early karacho karakami woodblock printing is beautifully represented here.



detail



earth-color-based karacho karakami on shouji, partitions that can divide the interior of
a building into separate rooms.



karacho karakami woodblock-handprinted paper.



karacho karakami woodblock-handprinted paper.



karacho karakami woodblock-handprinted paper.



views of the garden.





all images © designboom








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